On Monday, Samantha Powers, Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), issued a statement in which she referred to the “painful” assessment of security experts that famine is imminent in northern Gaza between now and May, and that There is also a serious risk of famine in the rest of Gaza.

“The catastrophic levels of hunger and malnutrition described in the Integrated Phase Classification (IPC) report are unimaginable in today’s era, but for hundreds of thousands of Palestinians in Gaza, this is the reality, with famine declared only twice a century,” Powers says in her statement. "On the 21st, this is a terrible milestone."

Powers' statement adds: "There must be a continuing and sustainable international effort to ensure that the appropriate type of assistance reaches the most vulnerable groups. Israel must do more to protect civilians and allow humanitarian workers to provide assistance in a safe and continuous manner," stressing that the administration of US President Joe Biden “It will continue to do everything in its power to fight famine in Gaza, and we call on Israel to take immediate action to put an end to this preventable mass suffering.”

“We also recognize the extraordinary efforts of humanitarian agencies and international donors, and urge increased safety and access in order to expand life-saving activities to those most in need,” the statement says.

USAID continues to prioritize emergency food assistance through ongoing support to the World Food Program (WFP), which was able to reach 1.45 million people with partial food assistance last February - but much more is needed, according to the statement.

“We continue to call on Israel to open more land routes to Gaza and reduce bottlenecks and delays in inspections so that the land crossings operate at full capacity, even as we seek to find air and sea options to supplement these land routes,” Powers says. “We also continue to demand that Hamas release "Recover all hostages, stop its attacks, use civilians as human shields, and refrain from any action that would make it more difficult for aid to reach those in need."

“Since the beginning of this conflict, the United States has been leading efforts to deliver life-saving humanitarian aid to Gaza to alleviate the suffering of innocent Palestinians who have no connection to Hamas,” the USAID Administrator insists.

This is and will remain a top priority. High-level American diplomacy led to the opening of the Rafah and Kerem Shalom crossings, and the recent Gate 96, and we established air and sea deliveries in order to increase options for providing assistance, and we continue to call for increased throughput in order to get assistance to those who need it most.”