ADDIS ABABA – United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on July 28 called on the international community to reject the use of hunger as a weapon of war, amid growing humanitarian crises in Gaza, Sudan, and other conflict zones.
Speaking via video at a UN conference in Ethiopia, Guterres said climate change, ongoing wars, and disrupted aid systems are fuelling food insecurity across the globe. “Climate change is disrupting harvests, supply chains, and humanitarian aid. Conflict continues to spread hunger from Gaza to Sudan and beyond,” he said. “Hunger fuels instability and undermines peace. We must never accept hunger as a weapon of war.”
In the Gaza Strip, where war has raged for over 21 months, conditions remain dire. Humanitarian agencies have warned that access to life-saving aid remains critically low, particularly during Israel’s full blockade of the region from March to May. Although the blockade has since eased, aid agencies say the current level of deliveries remains far below the amount needed to meet urgent needs.
Israel, under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, has denied accusations that it is using hunger as a tool of war. Instead, Israeli officials have blamed international aid agencies for failing to collect and distribute supplies delivered to Gaza’s border crossings. On July 27, Israel announced a “tactical pause” in its military operations to allow aid distribution. However, the World Health Organisation warned that malnutrition levels in Gaza were reaching “alarming levels.”
The crisis in Sudan has also drawn alarm from UN agencies. Mr Othman Belbeisi, regional director of the International Organization for Migration (IOM), described Sudan as “the largest humanitarian catastrophe facing our world and also the least remembered.” The country has been embroiled in a deadly conflict since April 2023 between army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, leader of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces. Tens of thousands have been killed and over seven million people displaced.
Guterres’s remarks come as global aid systems struggle to respond to overlapping crises exacerbated by political conflict and climate shocks, placing millions at risk of starvation.