{"id":1674,"date":"2026-05-24T06:42:16","date_gmt":"2026-05-24T06:42:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cnnglobalnews.com\/2026\/05\/24\/hunger-increasingly-used-as-weapon-of-war-as-food-related-violence-surges-analysis-shows\/"},"modified":"2026-05-24T06:42:16","modified_gmt":"2026-05-24T06:42:16","slug":"hunger-increasingly-used-as-weapon-of-war-as-food-related-violence-surges-analysis-shows","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cnnglobalnews.com\/?p=1674","title":{"rendered":"Hunger increasingly used as weapon of war as \u2018food-related violence\u2019 surges, analysis shows"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"border-color:var(--article-border);background-color:var(--article-inner-background)\" class=\"dcr-wqti5a\">\n<div class=\"dcr-2zxs1v\">\n<div style=\"--grid-area:media\" data-gu-name=\"media\" class=\"dcr-1fnjjtg\">\n<div class=\"dcr-14emo0l\">\n<div class=\"dcr-tr9ye5\">\n<figure id=\"15ac5c3a-541a-4148-9c08-69ddcc6933ed\" class=\"dcr-142siv7\">\n<div id=\"img-1\" class=\"dcr-1t8m8f2\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Displaced Palestinians scramble on top of a truck, reaching for aid supplies in Gaza\" src=\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/f428ad0e4cf717eb6e16d62e3d1369c851836ee6\/0_0_6236_4157\/master\/6236.jpg?width=465&amp;dpr=1&amp;s=none&amp;crop=none\" width=\"465\" height=\"309.97514432328416\" loading=\"eager\" class=\"dcr-evn1e9\"><span class=\"dcr-v822l1\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"dcr-gup2gr\">\n<div class=\"dcr-fntg6k\"><label for=\"the-checkbox\" class=\"dcr-1xgwz8b\"><\/label> <\/p>\n<div id=\"the-caption\"><figcaption data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\" class=\"dcr-1os51wo\"><span class=\"dcr-hvsf4t\"><\/span><span class=\"dcr-1qvd3m6\">Displaced Palestinians jostle for bags of flour from an aid truck near a food distribution point in the northern Gaza Strip in July 2025.<\/span> Photograph: Mohammed Saber\/EPA<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/span><a href=\"#img-1\" data-ignore=\"global-link-styling\" class=\"open-lightbox dcr-13fd1ms\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><button data-element-id=\"15ac5c3a-541a-4148-9c08-69ddcc6933ed\" type=\"button\" class=\"open-lightbox dcr-4tmywn\" aria-haspopup=\"dialog\"><span class=\"dcr-194i6pr\">View image in fullscreen<\/span><\/button><\/a><\/div>\n<p><span class=\"dcr-n4pnam\"><figcaption data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\" class=\"dcr-1hdkqum\"><span class=\"dcr-hvsf4t\"><\/span><span class=\"dcr-1qvd3m6\">Displaced Palestinians jostle for bags of flour from an aid truck near a food distribution point in the northern Gaza Strip in July 2025.<\/span> Photograph: Mohammed Saber\/EPA<\/figcaption><\/span><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"--grid-area:border\" data-gu-name=\"border\" class=\"dcr-1fnjjtg\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"--grid-area:headline\" data-gu-name=\"headline\" class=\"dcr-1fnjjtg\">\n<div class=\"dcr-14emo0l\">\n<div class=\"dcr-1aqe7zu\">\n<h1 class=\"dcr-1k1a1x\">Hunger increasingly used as weapon of war as \u2018food-related violence\u2019 surges, analysis shows<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"--grid-area:standfirst\" data-gu-name=\"standfirst\" class=\"dcr-1fnjjtg\">\n<div class=\"dcr-15in7js\">\n<p>More than 20,000 attacks on markets, farmland and food distribution systems have been recorded since 2018<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"--grid-area:body\" data-gu-name=\"body\" class=\"dcr-kn9unn\">\n<div class=\"dcr-1a4fred\">\n<div id=\"maincontent\" class=\"dcr-ydnaza\">\n<div class=\"article-body-commercial-selector article-body-viewer-selector dcr-1c9t5u6\">\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Hunger is being increasingly exploited as a weapon of war with more than 20,000 documented incidents of \u201cfood-related violence\u201d in the past eight years, new analysis reveals.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Attacks include 1,261 strikes on markets used by families for daily groceries and 863 incidents in which food distribution systems were targeted and workers killed.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">The analysis looked at the period since UN resolution 2417 unanimously condemned the <a href=\"https:\/\/news.un.org\/en\/story\/2018\/05\/1010731\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">deliberate starvation of civilians in 2018<\/a>. It found starvation is being increasingly weaponised with the supply of food routinely targeted in Gaza, Sudan, Lebanon and Haiti among others.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Data compiled by <a href=\"https:\/\/insecurityinsight.org\/\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">Insecurity Insight<\/a> uncovered 21,403 incidents in 15 countries where food supplies have been deliberately targeted since 2018, when the UN security council unanimously passed a <a href=\"https:\/\/docs.un.org\/en\/S\/res\/2417(2018)\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">resolution<\/a> condemning the unlawful denial of humanitarian aid as a tactic of warfare.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Researchers discovered 1,909 military strikes on farmland, and another 563 on water infrastructure vital for crops, which affected food security in more than 42 countries and territories.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"6084ef64-8105-4d9e-949b-6e5d7616aab3\" data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\" data-spacefinder-type=\"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.ImageBlockElement\" class=\"dcr-173mewl\">\n<div id=\"img-2\" class=\"dcr-1t8m8f2\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"The destroyed market, reduced to piles of corrugated metal sheets, in Lankien, Jonglei state, South Sudan, 23 April 2026\" src=\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/6db27caccaa1676d70e441949fe70c649dbf301c\/0_0_5184_3888\/master\/5184.jpg?width=445&amp;dpr=1&amp;s=none&amp;crop=none\" width=\"445\" height=\"333.75\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"dcr-evn1e9\"><a href=\"#img-2\" data-ignore=\"global-link-styling\" class=\"open-lightbox dcr-13fd1ms\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><button data-element-id=\"6084ef64-8105-4d9e-949b-6e5d7616aab3\" type=\"button\" class=\"open-lightbox dcr-4tmywn\" aria-haspopup=\"dialog\"><span class=\"dcr-194i6pr\">View image in fullscreen<\/span><\/button><\/a><\/div><figcaption data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\" class=\"dcr-fd61eq\"><span class=\"dcr-1inf02i\"><\/span><span class=\"dcr-1qvd3m6\">The remains of a market at Lankien, Jonglei state, South Sudan, after an airstrike in April 2026.<\/span> Photograph: Florence Miettaux\/The Guardian<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">States with the highest recorded incidents are the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.unocha.org\/occupied-palestinian-territory\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">occupied Palestinian Territory <\/a>with 9,013 attacks, followed by Yemen \u2013 1,863 incidents \u2013 and Sudan, where food was targeted in 1,605 strikes. One of the most recent attacks in Sudan occurred on Tuesday when a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.france24.com\/en\/live-news\/20260519-drone-attack-kills-28-at-market-in-southern-sudan\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">drone struck a busy market, killing 28 people<\/a>.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"f5e84a25-33b5-4453-babe-828047f07fe0\" data-spacefinder-role=\"richLink\" data-spacefinder-type=\"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.RichLinkBlockElement\" class=\"dcr-47fhrn\">\n<div data-print-layout=\"hide\" data-link-name=\"rich-link-7 | 7\" data-component=\"rich-link\" data-name=\"placeholder\" class=\"dcr-1kyw41h\">\n<div data-format-theme=\"5\" data-format-design=\"0\" data-format-display=\"0\" class=\"dcr-1ljij2n\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/global-development\/2026\/may\/13\/south-sudan-hospital-msf-bombed-healthcare-attacks-jonglei\" class=\"dcr-1m887w9\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"dcr-ut4tvs\">\n<div class=\"dcr-1h5b6rb\">\n<div class=\"dcr-169d7yv\">On Monday morning it was a busy South Sudan hospital. By Tuesday night it was a bombed-out shell<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"dcr-eurq8n\">\n<div class=\"dcr-fkf7vq\">Read more<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Witnesses said the main market in the town of Ghubaysh, West Kordofan, appeared to have been deliberately targeted by the military while it was crowded with civilians.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Other countries that documented repeated attacks on food supplies <a href=\"https:\/\/insecurityinsight.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Syria-Conflict-and-Hunger-March-2023.pdf\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">include Syria<\/a>, which saw 1,538 incidents, many attributed to government or Russian military forces before the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2025\/dec\/08\/stalled-justice-violence-syria-assad-one-year-on\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">fall of the Assad regime<\/a>; and Mali, where 1,415 attacks were recorded as the ruling <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2026\/may\/15\/mali-airstrikes-rebel-alliance-separatists\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">junta struggled to maintain its grip<\/a> on power in the west African country.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">The research, to be released on Monday to coincide with the anniversary of the UN resolution, describes a \u201cmarked increase\u201d in attacks on markets, farmland and food distribution systems.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Giulia Cont\u00f2, conflict and hunger advocacy manager at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.actionagainsthunger.org.uk\/donate?utm_source=google&amp;utm_medium=grants&amp;utm_campaign=25-alwayson-digi-acquisition&amp;utm_content=pmax&amp;gad_source=1&amp;gad_campaignid=22642603813&amp;gbraid=0AAAAADfyoym_CIUH2es99nPpkuIKreod5&amp;gclid=CjwKCAjw2rrQBhBuEiwAarLWHRbeqQfyoRLcRV4fVhSI0NIZg1VGU224Yz8zuEfUS0nKXIxBk_xvBBoCCNwQAvD_BwE\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">Action Against Hunger<\/a>, said: \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2025\/jul\/31\/the-mathematics-of-starvation-how-israel-caused-a-famine-in-gaza\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">Famine in Gaza<\/a> and Sudan has captured global headlines over the past two years, but most conflict-induced hunger never does. It unfolds daily, with relentless attacks on the systems communities depend on to survive: livestock looted, markets bombed, aid convoys blocked.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure id=\"2df7aa9d-b70c-4781-9ba5-1241a429de43\" data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\" data-spacefinder-type=\"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.ImageBlockElement\" class=\"dcr-173mewl\">\n<div id=\"img-3\" class=\"dcr-1t8m8f2\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"A large fire destroys a livestock market in El Fasher, in Sudan\u2019s North Darfur state.\" src=\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/035d236ff6df530a80ad2c6f3bcc4e7f72569d64\/0_0_3000_2000\/master\/3000.jpg?width=445&amp;dpr=1&amp;s=none&amp;crop=none\" width=\"445\" height=\"296.66666666666663\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"dcr-evn1e9\"><a href=\"#img-3\" data-ignore=\"global-link-styling\" class=\"open-lightbox dcr-13fd1ms\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><button data-element-id=\"2df7aa9d-b70c-4781-9ba5-1241a429de43\" type=\"button\" class=\"open-lightbox dcr-4tmywn\" aria-haspopup=\"dialog\"><span class=\"dcr-194i6pr\">View image in fullscreen<\/span><\/button><\/a><\/div><figcaption data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\" class=\"dcr-fd61eq\"><span class=\"dcr-1inf02i\"><\/span><span class=\"dcr-1qvd3m6\">Fire destroys a livestock market in El Fasher, in Sudan\u2019s North Darfur state, in September 2023 after an attack by the Rapid Support Forces. <\/span> Photograph: AFP\/Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Researchers also found that civilians were frequently targeted as they attempted to obtain food. Between October 2023 and the end of 2025, more than 10,300 people were killed or injured trying to access aid.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Christina Wille, director at Insecurity Insight, urged the international community to implement the UN resolution, saying that it had a responsibility \u201cto act upon violations\u201d.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">She said: \u201cIt is not that resolution 2417 has failed, but that member states have failed to implement it, and to demonstrate the political will to prevent those very same actions that the international community claims to oppose.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Wille said that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/article\/2024\/jul\/22\/women-forced-to-have-sex-with-soldiers-for-food-in-sudanese-city\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">women were disproportionately affected<\/a> by the weaponisation of hunger.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">\u201cWomen in particular are faced with some of the toughest choices: unreliable access to food might mean travelling longer distances, increasing risks to their safety in volatile contexts.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">\u201cWomen who were primarily carers are forced to become breadwinners, often while reducing their food intake to prioritise their family members. Without enough food, children are unable to play, learn or grow, and the consequences on their development will last a lifetime.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure id=\"7fd22852-fb2b-4841-83a8-dc4ff247e722\" data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\" data-spacefinder-type=\"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.ImageBlockElement\" class=\"dcr-173mewl\">\n<div id=\"img-4\" class=\"dcr-1t8m8f2\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"People, mostly women and children, wait for food aid in Sana\u2019a, Yemen, with a young girl leaning into an empty serving vessel and facing the camera looking sad.\" src=\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/c144439c4b265d296f5f9b4e902005fccf8ba7fa\/0_0_6348_4079\/master\/6348.jpg?width=445&amp;dpr=1&amp;s=none&amp;crop=none\" width=\"445\" height=\"285.9412413358538\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"dcr-evn1e9\"><a href=\"#img-4\" data-ignore=\"global-link-styling\" class=\"open-lightbox dcr-13fd1ms\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><button data-element-id=\"7fd22852-fb2b-4841-83a8-dc4ff247e722\" type=\"button\" class=\"open-lightbox dcr-4tmywn\" aria-haspopup=\"dialog\"><span class=\"dcr-194i6pr\">View image in fullscreen<\/span><\/button><\/a><\/div><figcaption data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\" class=\"dcr-fd61eq\"><span class=\"dcr-1inf02i\"><\/span><span class=\"dcr-1qvd3m6\">Waiting for food rations on the outskirts of Sana\u2019a, Yemen, where prolonged conflict has meant millions of people living with extreme hunger.<\/span> Photograph: Yahya Arhab\/EPA<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Conflict remains the primary driver of hunger, accounting for more than half of all people facing severe hunger.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Last month, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ungeneva.org\/en\/news-media\/news\/2026\/04\/117960\/two-thirds-global-hunger-concentrated-10-conflict-hit-countries\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">UN agencies warned <\/a>that a growing share of global hunger is becoming entrenched in a small group of conflict-hit countries, with two-thirds of people facing acute food insecurity concentrated in just 10 nations.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-print-layout=\"hide\" class=\"dcr-qxqnsy\"><span class=\"dcr-1rq3vad\">Explore more on these topics<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"dcr-1dzx48f\">\n<ul class=\"dcr-1rrvs2w\">\n<li class=\"dcr-hj8byr\"><a href=\"\/global-development\/global-development\" class=\"dcr-1gwziyt\">Global development<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-hj8byr\"><a href=\"\/global-development\/hunger\" class=\"dcr-1gwziyt\">Hunger<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-hj8byr\"><a href=\"\/global-development\/conflict-and-development\" class=\"dcr-1gwziyt\">Conflict and arms<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-hj8byr\"><a href=\"\/world\/palestinian-territories\" class=\"dcr-1gwziyt\">Palestine<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-hj8byr\"><a href=\"\/world\/yemen\" class=\"dcr-1gwziyt\">Yemen<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-hj8byr\"><a href=\"\/world\/unitednations\" class=\"dcr-1gwziyt\">United Nations<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-hj8byr\"><a href=\"\/world\/middleeast\" class=\"dcr-1gwziyt\">Middle East and north Africa<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-hj8byr\"><a href=\"\/tone\/news\" class=\"dcr-1gwziyt\">news<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"dcr-nu129i\"><a href=\"mailto:?subject=Hunger%20increasingly%20used%20as%20weapon%20of%20war%20as%20%E2%80%98food-related%20violence%E2%80%99%20surges,%20analysis%20shows&amp;body=https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/global-development\/2026\/may\/24\/hunger-weapon-of-war-food-violence-surges?CMP=share_btn_url\" class=\"dcr-125qj9d\">Share<\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"dcr-zhx6xs\"><a data-link-name=\"meta-syndication-article\" href=\"https:\/\/syndication.theguardian.com\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fglobal-development%2F2026%2Fmay%2F24%2Fhunger-weapon-of-war-food-violence-surges&amp;type=article&amp;internalpagecode=global-development\/2026\/may\/24\/hunger-weapon-of-war-food-violence-surges\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\" title=\"Reuse this content\" class=\"dcr-14rjinq\">Reuse this content<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"--grid-area:right-column\" data-gu-name=\"right-column\" class=\"dcr-1h2hraq\">\n<div class=\"dcr-tn16h9\">\n<section class=\"dcr-1hko8ef\"><\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Displaced Palestinians jostle for bags of flour from an aid truck near a food distribution point in the northern Gaza Strip in July 2025. Photograph: Mohammed Saber\/EPA View image in &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnnglobalnews.com\/?p=1674\" class=\"more-link\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":1675,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1674","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world-news","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cnnglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1674","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cnnglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cnnglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cnnglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1674"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.cnnglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1674\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cnnglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1674"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cnnglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1674"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cnnglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1674"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}