A finding of famine would be a public rebuke of Israel —AP

AP WASHINGTON

A lead organisation monitoring food crises around the world withdrew a new report this week warning of imminent famine in north Gaza under what it called Israel's "near-total blockade”, after the US asked for its retraction, US officials told The Associated Press. The move follows public criticism of the report from the US ambassador to Israel.

The rare public challenge from the Biden administration of the work of the US-funded Famine Early Warning System, which is meant to reflect the data-driven analysis of unbiased experts, drew accusations from aid and human-rights figures of possible US political interference.

A finding of famine would be a public rebuke of Israel, which has insisted that its 15-month war in Gaza is aimed against the Hamas militant group and not against its civilian population. US ambassador to Israel Jacob Lew earlier this week called the warning by the internationally recognised group “inaccurate and irresponsible". 

Lew and the US Agency for International Development, which funds the monitoring group,said the findings failed to properly account for rapidly changing circumstances in north Gaza.

USAID confirmed to the AP that it had asked the famine-monitoring organization to withdraw its stepped-up warning issued in a report dated Monday.  caption  A finding of famine would be a public rebuke of Israel AP.