The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) report released today highlights that famine is imminent in the northern part of the Gaza Strip, and the entire population of Gaza is facing crisis levels of food insecurity or worse. In the two northern governorates of Gaza, famine is expected to arrive between now and May, and the famine threshold for acute food insecurity has already been far exceeded.
The report shows that 1.1 million people in Gaza are struggling with catastrophic hunger (IPC Phase 5) and starvation, which is the highest number of people ever recorded as facing catastrophic hunger by the IPC system. The southern governorates of Deir al Balah, Khan Younis, and Rafah are classified in IPC Phase 4 (emergency) and also risk slipping into famine conditions by July 2024.
The report notes a steeply increasing trend in malnutrition across the Gaza Strip, where acute malnutrition stood at less than 1% before the escalation in fighting five months ago. The report also highlights that famine, even in northern Gaza, can be halted if full access is facilitated for aid organizations to provide food, water, nutrition products, medicines, health and sanitation services, at scale, to the entire civilian population.
To address the situation, WFP estimates that at least 300 trucks are required to enter Gaza every day to distribute food, especially in the north. However, dispatching aid to the north of Gaza needs day-to-day approvals from Israeli authorities, and truck convoys frequently face looting or are turned back during the long waits at the Wadi Gaza checkpoint.
In response, WFP Deputy Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer, Carl Skau, has emphasized the need for sustained road access within Gaza, which is critical because other options such as airdrops cannot deliver the volume of aid urgently needed to avert imminent famine. WFP and its humanitarian partners require Israel to provide more entry points into Gaza, direct access via crossings in the north, and the use of Ashdod port in Israel to bring in food aid.
According to a new report by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), the northern part of the Gaza Strip is facing famine, and the entire population of Gaza is facing crisis levels of food insecurity. The report shows that half of the population has completely exhausted their food supplies and is struggling with catastrophic hunger, and 1.1 million people in Gaza are facing starvation. The report also highlighted a steeply increasing trend in malnutrition across the Gaza Strip, where acute malnutrition stood at less than 1% before the escalation in fighting five months ago.
The report said that famine can be halted if full access is facilitated for aid organizations to provide food, water, nutrition products, medicines, health and sanitation services, at scale, to the entire civilian population. WFP estimates that addressing the basic food needs will require at least 300 trucks to enter Gaza every day and distribute food, especially in the north.
Dispatching aid to the north of Gaza needs day-to-day approvals from Israeli authorities, and during the long waits at the Wadi Gaza checkpoint, truck convoys face looting and are frequently turned back. To provide the necessary response, WFP and its humanitarian partners need Israel to provide more entry points into Gaza, direct access via crossings in the north, and the use of Ashdod port in Israel to bring in food aid.
Please, subscribe to the YouTube channel of republicpolicy.com
