HAMILTON, Canada

The UN relief chief on Wednesday warned about the "preventable scourage" of famine, saying: "More than one million people are expected to face death and starvation by the middle of July." 

Martin Griffiths said: "Conflicts in Sudan, Gaza and beyond are raging out of control," stressing that the "war is pushing millions of people to the brink of starvation."

Emphasizing that "only technicalities prevent famines from being declared, as people are already dying of hunger," Griffiths said: "Famine in the 21st century is a preventable scourge."

He called on the G7 countries to use their influence to help stop famine, and said: "Waiting for an official declaration of famine before acting would be a death sentence for hundreds of thousands of people and a moral outrage."

The G7 countries include Italy, the UK, US, France, Germany, Japan and Canada.

Warning of the severity of the humanitarian crisis, particularly in Gaza and Sudan, Griffiths said: "In Gaza, half of the population – more than one million people – is expected to face death and starvation by the middle of July."

"In Sudan, at least 5 million people are also teetering on the brink of starvation. Communities in more than 40 hunger hotspots are at high risk of slipping into famine in the coming month, including in war-torn parts of Aj Jazirah, Darfur, Khartoum and Kordofan," he added.

According to the UN, the conflict in Sudan that started in April 2023 has resulted in more than 16,000 deaths, displaced nearly 10 million people, and left over 25 million in need of humanitarian assistance, making it one of the world's largest displacement and hunger crises.

Sudan has been mired by fighting between the army, led by Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, who is the head of the ruling Sovereign Council, and the RSF paramilitary group.  

 'We cannot afford to lose even a minute' 

Noting that humanitarian aid workers are being hindered in both Gaza and Sudan, Griffiths said: "This must change – we cannot afford to lose even a minute."

Griffiths stated that the UN will continue to do everything possible to save lives but highlighted that humanitarian aid alone is not the solution.

"The world must stop feeding the war machines that are starving the civilians of Gaza and Sudan. It is time instead to prioritize the diplomacy that will give people back their futures – and tomorrow, the G7 is at the helm," he said.

Israel has faced international condemnation amid its continued brutal onslaught on Gaza since an Oct. 7 attack by Hamas despite a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire.

Nearly 37,200 Palestinians have since been killed in Gaza, most of them women and children, and more than 84,800 others injured, according to local health authorities.

Eight months into the Israeli war, vast tracts of Gaza lay in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, whose latest ruling ordered Tel Aviv to immediately halt its operation in the southern city of Rafah, where over a million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before it was invaded on May 6.