Hassan Riaz: Half the population of Gaza – about 1.1 million people

Mother gives fluids with a syringe to her three-year-old child who suffers from severe malnutrition and dehydration. Picture taken in the Jabalia Camp in northern Gaza on June 9 by Abood Abusalama, AFP via Getty Images.

In November 2023, I wrote about the Gaza war and the impact it will have on politics here in Calderdale. At that time the death toll stood at 13,000 – 5,500 were children and 3,500 were women. A child was being killed every ten minutes.

Hassan Riaz writes: The war is still ongoing, and the death toll in Gaza currently stands at over 35,000, according to the UN. With tens of thousands unaccounted for, either missing or buried under the rubble. Over half of those killed have been women and children. According to Oxfam, the daily death rate in Gaza was higher than any other major 21st Century conflict.

In February 2024, according to the UN, famine was imminent in northern Gaza. The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) defines famine as an extreme deprivation of food. Starvation, death, destitution and extremely critical levels of acute malnutrition are or will likely be evident. Half the population – about 1.1 million people – are starving, according to the IPC classification. People cannot meet even the most basic, food needs. All means of food have been exhausted, whether that be begging, selling off belongings, catching rain water, or eating animal fodder.

In the worst-case scenario, it was stated that the entire population of Gaza will be in famine by July 2024. The UN said Gaza had the "highest share of people facing high levels of acute food insecurity that the IPC initiative has ever classified for any given area or country".

There are many pressing matters here in the UK too, which unfortunately we are all facing the brunt of. There exists huge issues around housing, the privatisation of the NHS, tax and the welfare system, state pensions, childhood poverty, the cost of living crisis, Brexit and climate change, to name but a few. It would be good to see politicians upholding the trust placed in them by their constituents, staying true to their word and working tirelessly for the betterment of their community.

Britain’s two-party system has never looked more broken – nor more ripe for potential change, this is reflected in the 35 per cent rise in candidates standing in July’s elections, which sees a record number of candidates. According to Ipsos, just nine per cent of the British public say they trust politicians to tell the truth, its lowest score in 40 years. This makes them the least trusted profession in Britain.

I have lived and grown up in Park Ward, once deemed a clean-sweep for Labour. But times are different now, and that was made evident in the local elections in Park Ward too: a 42 per cent loss in voting share for Labour. Come election time, Park Ward would have, historically, been a red wall with Labour posters and banners, but this year there is little to no sign of Labour support.

With a margin of victory of only 2,500 votes for Labour in Halifax at the last General Election, Park Ward could well prove to be a key deciding factor. In the 2021 census, there was around 18,000 Muslims residing in Halifax. Many of these will also be eligible to vote, and many of these will no doubt steer clear of voting for the two-party system, based on their lack of intervention in the Gaza war.

Hassan Riaz: Half the population of Gaza – about 1.1 million people – are starving