United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has called on the international community to unequivocally reject the use of hunger as a tool in armed conflicts, warning that its devastating impact fuels instability and erodes prospects for peace.
Speaking via video at a UN conference held in Ethiopia on Monday, Guterres lamented the worsening food crises across several conflict zones, from Gaza to Sudan. He stressed the urgent need to break the link between war and hunger.
“Climate change is disrupting harvests, supply chains, and humanitarian aid. Conflict continues to spread hunger from Gaza to Sudan and beyond,” the UN chief said.
“Hunger fuels instability and undermines peace. We must never accept hunger as a weapon of war.”
His remarks come amid growing international concern over life-threatening hunger in the Gaza Strip, where months of war and a recent blockade on aid deliveries have devastated civilian access to food and essentials.
Although Israel has since introduced a “tactical pause” to allow humanitarian operations, UN agencies say the volume of aid reaching the region remains critically low.
Israel’s government, led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, has firmly denied accusations that it is weaponizing hunger, instead blaming aid agencies for failing to distribute supplies efficiently at Gaza’s border crossings.
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Meanwhile, the World Health Organization on Sunday warned that malnutrition in Gaza is reaching “alarming levels,” even as the fighting continues to hamper relief efforts.
Beyond Gaza, Sudan is facing what the UN describes as the world’s largest yet most neglected humanitarian disaster. Since April 2023, violent clashes between rival military factions—the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces—have killed tens of thousands and displaced over seven million people.
Othman Belbeisi, the regional director of the International Organization for Migration (IOM), described Sudan’s crisis as the “largest humanitarian catastrophe facing our world and also the least remembered,” underscoring the need for urgent international attention.
The UN continues to push for ceasefires and unhindered humanitarian access in all conflict-affected areas to prevent further loss of life and the deepening of global hunger emergencies.