Cindy McCain says Gaza ‘on the edge’ of going ‘over the cliff with famine and not being able to recover’

World Food Programme (WFP) Executive Director Cindy McCain sounded the alarm on the humanitarian situation in Gaza, saying people in the territory are on the brink of famine.

“We're literally on the brink of going over the edge – over the cliff – with famine and not being able to recover from it,” McCain said in an interview on CNN’s “State of the Union” with Jake Tapper.

The remarks come as the situation in Gaza continues to grow more dire. Last month, the WFP published a report saying famine “is imminent in the northern part of the Gaza Strip.”

The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) report, published last month, found about half the population in Gaza, about 1.1 million people, have exhausted all of their food supplies and are facing “catastrophic hunger” and starvation.

On Sunday, McCain stressed the importance of the border crossings, saying the WFP has food for 1.1 million people three months amassed on the border and just needs to be let into the Gaza Strip.

McCain was unable to say specifically whether reports that Israel was withdrawing some troops from southern Gaza would make it easier to deliver aid to people who need it.