Much of the report’s findings stem from the fact that the committee could not examine evidence due to “the lack of essential up to date data on human well-being in Northern Gaza, and Gaza at large.”
The FEWS NET report relied on “multiple layers of assumptions and inference, beginning with food availability and access in northern Gaza and continuing through nutritional status and mortality,” according to FRC.
While the use of assumptions and inference is standard practice in IPC reporting, the FRC notes that there are limitations to this evidence, which “leads to a very high level of uncertainty regarding the current food security and nutritional status of the population [in northern Gaza].”
This means that while there might have been a famine in Gaza, it cannot be classified as such because there is not enough evidence.
The report also notes that FEWS NET reported fewer trucks entering Gaza than other sources.
“The FRC notes that the overall number of trucks entering the Gaza Strip and available food that FEWS NET used for its analysis is significantly less than reported by other sources,” including the figures reported by United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) and the WFP.