According to a report by the Food Authority, the risk of famine in Gaza is increasing
Palestinians receive food and humanitarian aid in Rafah, Gaza, December 19. (Image credit: Abed Zagout/Anadolu/Getty Images)
The risk of famine in Gaza increases with every day that hostilities continue or worsen, according to a report released Thursday by a United Nations-backed food security agency.
In its report on the devastated enclave, the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) notes that while acute malnutrition and non-trauma-related mortality have not yet exceeded hunger thresholds, “these are typically the result of persistent and extreme deficits in food consumption.” “
“The intensification of hostilities, further restrictions on access to food, basic supplies and life-saving assistance, and the extreme concentration or isolation of the population in inadequate shelter or areas without basic services are important factors contributing to increasing this risk,” IPC reported.
He added that hostilities – including shelling, military ground operations and the siege of all 2.2 million people in Gaza – had already resulted in catastrophic acute food insecurity across the territory.
According to the report, virtually all households in Gaza go without meals, with four out of five households in the north and almost half of displaced households in the south going entire days without eating.
“Many adults are going hungry so that children can eat,” the IPC reported, explaining that humanitarian access must be restored across the region to enable rapid delivery of life-saving aid.
According to the report, the entire population of Gaza is in a state of crisis (IPC Phase 3).
“This is the largest proportion of people with high levels of acute food insecurity that the IPC Initiative has ever classified for any specific area or country,” the report said.
According to the report, at least 79% of Gaza's population is in a state of emergency or disaster.
The classification shows that more than half a million people suffer from catastrophic acute food insecurity, characterized by extreme food shortages, alarming rates of acute malnutrition among children under 5 years of age and significant increases in mortality rates.