According to the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) platform, two out of three famine thresholds for food consumption have been breached across most of Gaza, with acute malnutrition levels in Gaza City confirming aid agencies’ repeated warnings.
“Mounting evidence shows that widespread starvation, malnutrition, and disease are driving a rise in hunger-related deaths,” the IPC assessment maintained.
“It’s clearly a disaster unfolding in front of our eyes, in front of our television screens,” said Ross Smith, UN World Food Programe (WFP) Director of Emergencies. “This is not a warning, this is a call to action. This is unlike anything we have seen in this century,” he told journalists in Geneva.
No food – for days
The context to the alert is stark: one in three people is now going without food for days at a time, the IPC said. Hospitals are also overwhelmed and have treated more than 20,000 children for acute malnutrition since April. At least 16 children under five have died from hunger-related causes since mid-July.
The alert follows a May 2025 IPC analysis that projected catastrophic levels of food insecurity for the entire population by September. According to the platform’s experts, at least half a million people are expected to be in IPC Phase 5 – catastrophe – which is marked by starvation, destitution, and death.
The crisis is driven by nearly two years of conflict sparked by Hamas-led terror attacks in Israel in October 2023 that left some 1,250 dead and around 450 people taken hostage Heavy fighting has killed more than 59,500 people according to the enclave’s health authorities and destroyed 70 per cent of Gaza’s infrastructure. Echoing aid agencies’ longstanding concerns for non-combatants, the IPC assessment confirmed that displacement is rampant, with safe areas reduced to less than 12 per cent of the entire territory.
Ceasefire now
Gaza has a population of some 2.1 million people and 90 per cent have been displaced, many of them multiple times over. More than 762,500 displacements have been recorded since the end of the ceasefire on 18 March.
Meanwhile, humanitarian access remains severely restricted, with aid convoys frequently obstructed or looted. On Sunday, Israel announced that it would begin daily humanitarian pauses in Gaza. More than 100 trucks of aid reportedly entered on Sunday, but the UN continues to uphold the need to flood Gaza with food, fuel and medicine.
In line with international calls for an end to the war, the IPC platform also calls for an unconditional and immediate ceasefire, unimpeded humanitarian access and the restoration of essential services. Widespread death is imminent without urgent intervention, the report warns.
The food security experts also appealed for the protection of civilians, humanitarian personnel and critical infrastructure including health, water, sanitation, roads and telecommunications networks.
Key Points
Famine confirmed: IPC thresholds breached for food consumption and malnutrition.
Children at risk: More than 20,000 treated for acute malnutrition; 16 deaths reported.
Infrastructure collapse: 70 per cent of Gaza’s infrastructure destroyed.
Displacement crisis: Safe zones now cover less than 12 per cent of the Strip.
For more details on the IPC and its work tracking hunger and famine conditions follow this link:
https://news.un.org/en/story/2024/03/1147661
