UK Reform Party deputy leader disputes Gaza famine claims
Richard Tice, deputy leader of the UK's Reform Party, has described reports of famine in Gaza as a 'blatant lie' after visiting the Israeli-Gaza border. He accuses the United Nations and British government of ignoring aid flows and promoting manipulated narratives. A report backs his claims by highlighting flaws in UN famine data.
Richard Tice, deputy leader of the UK's Reform Party, recently returned from the Israeli-Gaza border, where he visited the Kerem Shalom crossing, a key checkpoint for humanitarian aid into Gaza. In an article titled 'On the Gaza front line, I find the famine is a blatant lie,' Tice described witnessing substantial aid supplies amid the war zone. 'I found myself at an Israeli border crossing into Gaza. I stood among hundreds of pallets of fresh avocados, onions and bananas, along with more flour, sugar and tins than I had ever seen,' he wrote, emphasizing that aid is actively moving despite the dangers.
Tice criticized organizations like the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), which has the largest presence in Gaza, for slow distribution efforts. He alleged that some groups refuse to cooperate with Israeli vetting procedures, delaying aid and allowing Hamas to seize supplies for the black market, which drives up prices and creates artificial scarcity. 'Why are we still funding the UN and other organisations that fail and lie?' Tice asked.
His statements are supported by a report from the Network Contagion Research Institute (NCRI), a nonpartisan group that examined the UN's August declaration of famine in Gaza City. The NCRI found the claim relied on statistically manipulated models, cherry-picked data, and suppression of contradictory evidence. For instance, the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), the UN's famine arm, used an exponential model on six data points despite a linear model fitting equally well. An updated dataset from over 15,000 children showed malnutrition at 13.5%, below the 15% famine threshold, but was ignored before publication. The report also noted buried hunger surveys, selective regional labeling to exaggerate suffering, and exclusion of Rafah—a stable area receiving U.S.-backed aid—by claiming it was 'depopulated,' contrary to prior inclusions.
Tice labeled the situation 'fraud' and warned of harm to Israeli civilians facing terrorist attacks, honest Palestinians under corrupt aid networks, Western publics, and taxpayers. He called for accountability from the UN and affiliates for burying data to maintain a narrative.