Former US President Barack Obama on Sunday called for aid to be allowed to reach the people of the Gaza Strip, stating that there is “no justification for withholding food and water from civilian families.”
Obama’s comments, posted on the social media platform X, were made in response to a New York Times op-ed by renowned Spanish-American chef José Andrés, founder of the relief organisation World Central Kitchen, which provides food in disaster and war zones.
Andrés’ article, titled “A Call to the World’s Conscience to Save Gaza from Starvation,” detailed the hunger catastrophe facing civilians in Gaza due to the Israeli siege and the ongoing war.
“While a lasting solution to the crisis in Gaza requires the return of all hostages and a halt to Israeli military operations, these articles underscore the immediate need for action to prevent the tragedy of innocent people dying from preventable hunger,” Obama wrote. “Aid must be allowed to reach Palestinians in Gaza. There is no justification for withholding food and water from civilian families.”
In his op-ed, Andrés wrote: “There is no justification for the world to stand idly by while two million people teeter on the brink of widespread famine.”
“This is not a natural disaster caused by drought or crop failure, but a man-made crisis, which is also solvable by human means that could save lives today,” he added.
The founder of World Central Kitchen noted in his article that Israel, as the occupying power, has the responsibility to ensure the survival of civilians. He criticised the plan of the Israeli-backed “Gaza Humanitarian Foundation” to distribute food from limited centres, saying it forced the hungry to walk for miles and threatened their lives.
Andrés said it was time to rebuild the aid system. “Food cannot be delivered to Gaza fast enough. According to the World Food Program, a third of Gaza’s population has gone without food for several consecutive days. Children are dying of starvation in rapidly increasing numbers,” he wrote.
He mentioned that his organisation, World Central Kitchen, along with its partners in Gaza, provides tens of thousands of meals daily. “Since the beginning of the war, we have distributed more than 133 million meals through field and community kitchens,” he said.
Andrés explained that his organisation had proposed urgent measures to correct the course of aid distribution in Gaza, such as opening safe humanitarian corridors for all organisations working in the strip, increasing the production of hot meals, and delivering food directly to people where they are. He also noted that his organisation had proposed producing one million meals a day by establishing five large kitchens in safe areas.
