Famine imminent in Gaza if Israel doesn't lift blockade, hunger monitor warns
The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), a global network of UN agencies and humanitarian groups, reported Monday that 477,000 people in Gaza, or 22 percent of the population, are facing 'catastrophic' hunger from May to September, the highest classification level.
Over one million more are at 'emergency' levels, marked by severe food gaps and high acute malnutrition.
'The current level of human suffering, destitution and harm is extreme and requires urgent action from all parties,' the IPC said in its report.
The IPC warned that famine is imminent if the current conditions persist. The ongoing Israeli blockade, in place since 2 March, has severely restricted the entry of essential food and medical supplies into Gaza.
New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch
Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters
The blockade, coupled with over 19 months of intense bombardment, has decimated local food production and infrastructure, leaving residents almost entirely reliant on dwindling external aid.
Communal kitchens, which have become the primary source of food for many, are rapidly shutting down due to a lack of supplies. Thousands of Palestinians queue daily, hoping for minimal food rations, often leaving empty-handed.
The data was gathered by IPC in Gaza between 1 April 1 and 10 May. The IPC, which rarely declares famines, has done so in Somalia, South Sudan and Darfur in previous years.
Engineered starvation
In reaction to IPC's report, the World Food Programme (WFP) said that over 116,000 metric tons of food, enough to feed one million people for four months, remain blocked at the border.
The WFP said on Monday that it had exhausted its food stocks in April, and all 25 WFP-supported bakeries have closed due to shortages of wheat flour and cooking fuel.
'Death of a generation': Gaza infants battle starvation under deepening Israeli siege Read More »
'Families in Gaza are starving while the food they need is sitting at the border,' said Cindy McCain, executive director of the WFP.
'If we wait until after a famine is confirmed, it will already be too late for many people.'
Children are among the most severely affected. Save the Children reported that more than 93 percent of Gaza's children, around 930,000, are at critical risk of famine.
Unicef said it has treated 11,000 children for acute malnutrition since the start of 2025, with cases climbing dramatically in March.
'Hunger and acute malnutrition are a daily reality for children across the Gaza Strip,' said Unicef executive director, Catherine Russell.
Oxfam also condemned the situation.
'Gaza's starvation is not incidental - it is deliberate, entirely engineered - and has now created the largest population facing starvation anywhere in the world,' said Mahmoud Alsaqqa, Oxfam's food security and livelihoods coordinator. 'It is unconscionable and is being allowed to happen.'
He described the total siege as a 'manmade famine unfolding in real time,' with scenes of malnourished children too weak to cry and entire communities surviving without food or clean water.
'In one displacement camp, only five of 500 families had any flour left to make bread,' he added.
Weaponised aid
The IPC said that an Israeli plan announced on 5 May to facilitate aid delivery was 'highly insufficient to meet the population's essential needs'.
Israel is starving Gaza to death, and still the world does nothing Read More »
Israel maintains that the blockade is necessary to pressure Hamas into releasing the remaining captives and insists on a new aid distribution system under its control.
Humanitarian agencies oppose this plan, saying it weaponises assistance.
'Turning aid into a tool of control endangers civilians, erodes the neutrality of humanitarian work, and risks unleashing even greater chaos and suffering across Gaza,' Alsaqqa said.
Meanwhile, international leaders have voiced their concerns, including the new pope.
Pope Leo XIV, in his inaugural Sunday address, called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and urged the global community to allow humanitarian aid into the strip.
Irish Taoiseach Micheal Martin labelled Israel's blockade as a "war crime" and said it is "wholly unacceptable'.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Middle East Eye
12 hours ago
- Middle East Eye
Displaced in Gaza: Recounting stories from the Gaza genocide
In this powerful new collection, 27 Palestinians from Gaza - students, mothers, fathers, grandparents, children and teachers - recount their experiences of being internally displaced in Gaza after Israel's invasion of Gaza and subsequent genocidal campaign. Published by Haymarket Books, in collaboration with the American Friends Service Committee and the Hashim Sani Center for Palestine Studies, the book offers raw, unfiltered voices from the heart of Gaza's ongoing nightmare. A searing chronicle of a people's suffering under genocide, it is also a celebration of their enduring humanity and hope. From the start, Displaced in Gaza makes clear that these stories are not mere accounts of pain and loss; they are assertions of identity, resilience and resistance. Reading the testimonies is an emotionally charged experience, one that leaves the reader shaken by the horrors described within. Palestinians in Gaza retrieve aid amid the Israeli-imposed siege on the territory in June (AFP)
The National
19 hours ago
- The National
Bartering returns to Gaza as hungry locals swap flour, lentils and shampoo
In Gaza, where war has choked the economy and blockades have emptied shop shelves, the millennia-old system of bartering is making a comeback. No longer a relic of ancient times or a plotline in historical dramas, exchanging goods has become a daily necessity for thousands living under Israel 's siege. Barter groups, once rare, are now among the most active online communities in Gaza. 'I used to hear about bartering in historical TV series,' Marwan Al Muqayed, 33, a father of two living in temporary accommodation in Gaza city's Sheikh Radwan neighbourhood, told The National. 'But now it's how I survive. It's become a way of life.' With traditional commerce crippled by closed borders, rocketing prices and a severe cash shortage, residents of Gaza are turning to Facebook and WhatsApp groups to exchange goods such as lentils for flour, sugar for rice and soap for shampoo. Palestinians are living under what UN-backed experts have called a worst-case scenario of famine, with Israel allowing only modest numbers of aid lorries to enter the strip. Dozens of children have died from starvation, according to Gaza health officials, with doctors and aid workers feeling the strain as they try to salvage the situation. Issa Al Namnam, 44, a father of six, never imagined he would be sourcing baby milk for his youngest child through Facebook. 'The war and the lack of cash forced me, like many others, to rely on bartering,' he said. 'Sometimes I need oil or sugar but have no money. So I find someone who has what I need and offer them something I have.' These grass roots exchanges have become lifelines. Mr Al Namnam once swapped flour for a can of baby milk, and traded canned meat for spices he could not find anywhere else. It's not an ideal system. 'Bartering is old and not very efficient,' he admits. 'But in wartime it's what we have.' For Mohammad Qusay'a, 29, bartering is not only practical but the only viable option. A resident of Gaza's Safatawi neighbourhood, he rarely uses money except for buying a few vegetables. 'Most of my needs I cover through exchanges,' he told The National. 'I check the WhatsApp group daily, see what people are offering and arrange swaps.' With cash in short supply and banknotes deteriorating to the point where vendors have stopped accepting them, people were left with little choice. Mr Qusay'a has exchanged items such as dates, sugar, flour, shampoo and soap. 'I got tired of struggling with useless cash,' Mr Qusay'a said. 'Bartering is the only thing that works now. It helps me provide for my family without needing money.' When Gaza's border crossings were sealed in March, Mr Al Muqayed had the foresight to stockpile a few staple goods. But as the blockade dragged on, supplies dwindled and prices soared. 'I bought what I could at the start but when things ran out I had to buy from the market and prices were insane,' he says. 'That's when I turned to bartering.' In one exchange, he traded lentils for pasta and flour. In another, sugar for oil and rice. With Gaza's economy in freefall and the currency nearly worthless, residents are left clinging to community-driven solutions. 'Prices have doubled, even tripled. People can't afford anything any more,' he says. 'Bartering might not be ideal but it helps us get through this.' Though most see bartering as a stopgap until the war ends and normal trade resumes, its role in the daily life of Gazans is undeniable. In the face of financial collapse, isolation and hardship, people are building their own alternative economy, one swap at a time. 'For now, bartering is how we survive,' says Mr Al Namnam. 'Until the war ends and the shelves are full again, this is the system we trust.'
Zawya
a day ago
- Zawya
European Union maintains vital support for World Food Programme (WFP)'s lifesaving assistance in Algeria
The European Union (EU) has reaffirmed its commitment to Sahrawi refugees in Algeria through sustained funding for the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), enabling the delivery of vital food assistance to over 133,000 vulnerable people each month. This month marks the second year of the multi-year partnership that provides €5 million annually to address one of the world's most protracted refugee crises. In the remote desert camps near Tindouf, where Sahrawi refugees have lived since 1975, WFP's assistance remains a lifeline. More than 80 percent of the population relies entirely on humanitarian aid to meet their basic food needs. Through its partnership with the Algerian Red Crescent, WFP distributes monthly food rations tailored to nutritional needs, while increasingly prioritising programmes, including Social Behaviour Change (SBC) initiatives, addressing malnutrition among children and pregnant women and promoting better nutrition practices. "We are deeply grateful to the European Union for their unwavering support and commitment to the Sahrawi refugees," said Aline Rumonge, WFP Representative and Country Director in Algeria. "This strong and reliable partnership provides the sustained funding we need to deliver life-saving assistance while improving the effectiveness of our operations in the camps.' In 2024, WFP provided nearly 19,000 metric tons of food and reached 8,600 pregnant and breastfeeding women with monthly cash-based transfers to improve dietary diversity and reduce the risk of anaemia. In addition, WFP distributed specialised nutritious food to prevent and treat moderate acute malnutrition among children under five. The EU has been a cornerstone donor for WFP's operations in Algeria, contributing €102 million (US$123.4 million) since 2003. With needs persisting and global attention waning, this enduring partnership underscores a shared commitment to ensure Sahrawi refugees are not forgotten. WFP has supported the Sahrawi refugees in Algeria since 1986. WFP's operations in the country are carried out and monitored in collaboration with national and international organizations to ensure food assistance reaches the people for whom it is intended. Distributed by APO Group on behalf of World Food Programme (WFP).
