Paris (AFP) – Gaza is at “critical risk of famine,” with 22 percent of the population facing an imminent humanitarian “catastrophe” after more than two months of an aid blockade by Israel, a food security monitor warned Monday. Gaza’s entire population of around 2.4 million people is at risk of a food crisis “or worse” by September, the UN- and NGO-backed Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) said in a report.
“Nineteen months into the conflict, the Gaza Strip is still confronted with a critical risk of famine,” the IPC stated. It noted that there had been a “major deterioration” in the food security situation since its last assessment in October 2024. “Goods indispensable for people’s survival are either depleted or expected to run out in the coming weeks. The entire population is facing high levels of acute food insecurity, with half a million people—one in five—facing starvation,” the report continued.
The consortium, which has developed a five-level famine warning system, found that from April 1 to May 10, 244,000 people in Gaza were in the most critical food security situation—level five, or “catastrophe/famine.” It classified another 925,000 as level four, or “emergency.”
The UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization called for the “immediate” lifting of the blockade. “Families in Gaza are starving while the food they need is sitting at the border,” said the UN World Food Programme’s executive director, Cindy McCain. “It’s imperative that the international community acts urgently to get aid flowing into Gaza again. If we wait until after a famine is confirmed, it will already be too late for many people.”
© 2024 AFP
