The President of Refugees International, Jeremy Konindyk, called the Israeli government's assertion that improved malnutrition statistics in Gaza somehow nullify the declaration of famine made a year ago 'absurd from the start.'
In a series of posts on the social network X, Konindyk presented data explaining that while malnutrition and famine in Gaza have indeed lessened since the famine declaration, the reason for this lies in Israel's actions.
He wrote that 'a very obvious reason is that last year Israel blocked aid for over six months, and after the famine declaration, it eased obstacles to food aid deliveries. This is easy to understand.'
Konindyk continued his point with an analogy: 'If you keep someone underwater, they start to drown. But if you pull them out, it doesn't mean you didn't drown them! The same thing happened with Israel's obstacles to food aid. The famine stopped because Israel stopped doing what caused it.'
According to the information, from March 2 to May 19, 2025, Israel allowed no aid into Gaza. After this period, up until the deal agreed upon with Trump in September, aid flows remained minimal. Famine was declared at the end of August, and the deal the following month allowed large-scale food aid deliveries to resume.