Impending Famine Threatens Parts of Gaza, Leaving 1.1 Million People Facing ‘Catastrophic’ Food Scarcity

Key Points

The IPC says 70 per cent of people in parts of northern Gaza are afflicted by the most severe food shortage level.
Some 1.1 million Gazans, around half the population, are reportedly experiencing “catastrophic” shortages of food.
Israel says it has allowed “extensive humanitarian aid into Gaza by land, air, and sea for anyone willing to help”.

Extreme food shortages in parts of the Gaza Strip have already exceeded famine levels, and mass death is now imminent without an immediate ceasefire and surge of food to areas cut off by fighting, the global hunger monitor said on Tuesday.

The Integrated Food-Security Phase Classification (IPC), whose assessments are relied on by UN agencies, said 70 per cent of people in parts of northern Gaza were suffering the most severe level of food shortage, far exceeding the 20 per cent famine threshold.

The IPC said it did not have enough data on death rates, but estimated residents would be dying at famine scale imminently, and children under four may already be.

“The actions needed to prevent famine require an immediate political decision for a ceasefire together with a significant and immediate increase in humanitarian and commercial access to the entire population of Gaza,” it said.

In all, 1.1 million Gazans, around half the population, were experiencing “catastrophic” shortages of food, the worst category, with around 300,000 in the areas now facing the prospect of famine-scale death rates.

The prospect of a man-made famine in Gaza has brought the strongest criticism of Israel from Western allies since it launched its war against Hamas militants following their deadly attack on Israeli territory on 7 October.

“In Gaza, we are no longer on the brink of famine, we are in a state of famine, affecting thousands of people,” EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said at the opening of a conference on humanitarian aid for Gaza in Brussels.

“Starvation is used as a weapon of war. Israel is provoking famine.”

Israeli foreign minister Israel Katz responded that Borrell should “stop attacking Israel and recognise our right to self-defence against Hamas’ crimes”.

Israel allowed “extensive humanitarian aid into Gaza by land, air, and sea for anyone willing to help”, Katz said on X, and aid was “violently disturbed” by Hamas militants’ “collaboration” with the UN’s aid agency UNRWA.

UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres called the IPC report an “appalling indictment” and said Israel must allow complete and unfettered access to all parts of Gaza.

“This is an entirely manmade disaster — and the report makes clear that it can be halted.”

In late February, a senior UN aid official warned the UN Security Council that widespread famine in Gaza could be “almost inevitable” without action.

Israel, which initially allowed aid into Gaza through only two checkpoints on the enclave’s southern edge, says it is opening more routes by land, as well as allowing sea shipments and airdrops. The first boat carrying aid arrived last week.

Aid agencies say they still cannot get enough supplies through or distribute them safely, especially in the north.

Israel has bombarded Gaza since Hamas’ 7 October attack in which more than 1,200 people, including an estimated 30 children, were killed and over 200 hostages taken, according to the Israeli government.

More than 31,726 people have been killed in Gaza since 7 October, mostly women and children, according to the health ministry in Gaza.

The 7 October attack was a significant escalation in the long-standing conflict between Israel and Hamas.

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