Catastrophic hunger crisis grips Gaza, UN warns

In a dire warning, the United Nations has declared that 1.1 million people in Gaza,
constituting half of the territory’s population, are facing catastrophic hunger conditions
bordering on famine. The assessment, made by the Integrated Food Security Phase
Classification (IPC) partnership, is unprecedented in scale.

“To have 50 percent of an entire population in catastrophic, near-famine levels, is
unprecedented,” said Beth Bechdol, deputy director general of the UN’s Food and
Agriculture Organization (FAO). The World Food Programme (WFP) described it as “the
highest number of people ever recorded as facing catastrophic hunger” under the IPC
system.

The situation is particularly grave in northern Gaza, where the UN estimates around 300,000
people reside, and where famine is “imminent… projected to occur anytime between mid-
March and May”. Cindy McCain, head of the WFP, painted a harrowing picture, stating,
“People in Gaza are starving to death right now. The speed at which this man-made hunger
and malnutrition crisis has ripped through Gaza is terrifying.”

UN humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths called for unimpeded aid access to the besieged
Palestinian territory, asserting, “The international community should hang its head in shame
for failing to stop this.” The US State Department described the findings as “alarming” and
“heartwrenching”.

Compounding the crisis, aid agencies have reported immense difficulties in gaining access
to Gaza, particularly the north. According to the WFP, meeting basic food needs would
require at least 300 trucks to enter Gaza daily, yet only nine convoys have reached the north
since January.

The report highlighted the toll on children, with one in three under the age of two acutely
malnourished or “wasted”. The World Health Organization warned of long-term effects,
stating, “This compromises the health and well-being of an entire future generation.”

While the technical criteria for a famine declaration have not been met, the IPC cautioned,
“All evidence points towards a major acceleration of deaths and malnutrition.” UN agencies
assert that urgent action is needed to avert a full-fledged famine, as “the window is shutting
very, very fast.”