The Gaza Strip has officially entered the worst-case scenario of famine.

This was confirmed by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), which issued a Food Insecurity and Malnutrition Alert on Monday, describing the crisis as “a disaster unfolding in front of our eyes.”

The IPC of which the World Health Organization (WHO) is a member has issued one of its gravest alerts yet, confirming that “famine is now unfolding” in Gaza amid unrelenting conflict, mass displacement, collapsed services, and blocked humanitarian aid.

“Mounting evidence shows that widespread starvation, malnutrition, and disease are driving a rise in hunger-related deaths,” the IPC stated.

“Latest data indicates that Famine thresholds have been reached for food consumption in most of the Gaza Strip and for acute malnutrition in Gaza City.”

Gaza’s humanitarian catastrophe has worsened rapidly in recent weeks. According to the IPC, malnutrition has surged in July, with over 20,000 children treated for acute malnutrition between April and mid-July, including more than 3,000 severely malnourished.

At least 16 children under the age of five have died from hunger-related causes since 17 July, hospitals have confirmed.

The IPC defines famine as “an extreme deprivation of food. Starvation, death, destitution and extremely critical levels of acute malnutrition are or will likely be evident.”

The situation is escalating with terrifying speed.

“The worst-case scenario of Famine is currently playing out in the Gaza Strip,” the warning read. “Conflict and displacement have intensified, and access to food and other essential items and services has plummeted to unprecedented levels.”

The IPC further noted that one in three people in Gaza is now going without food for days at a time, with humanitarian deliveries still critically limited.

Their May 2025 analysis warned that, if the current conditions continued, the entire population would face catastrophic levels of food insecurity by September. That scenario is now a reality. At least half a million people are already estimated to be in IPC Phase 5 – catastrophe, which includes starvation, destitution, and death.

“There is mounting evidence that widespread starvation, malnutrition and disease are driving a rise in hunger-related deaths,” the IPC stated.

Ross Smith, Director of Emergencies at the UN World Food Programme (WFP), underscored the scale of the crisis.“It’s clearly a disaster unfolding in front of our eyes, in front of our television screens. This is not a warning, this is a call to action. This is unlike anything we have seen in this century,” Smith told journalists in Geneva.

Since the resumption of heavy hostilities in March 2025, more than 762,500 new displacements have occurred. The IPC stated that 90% of Gaza’s 2.1 million population has now been displaced many repeatedly while safe zones have shrunk to less than 12% of the territory.

While Israel has announced daily humanitarian pauses, the IPC and the wider UN continue to demand unfettered access and a massive scale-up of food, fuel, and medical supplies.

The IPC added that 70% of Gaza’s infrastructure has been destroyed amid a conflict that has claimed more than 59,500 lives, according to local health authorities. The alert included an urgent call for five critical actions:

* End hostilities

*Ensure humanitarian access

*Protect civilians, aid workers, and civilian infrastructure

*Restore life-saving and multi-sectoral humanitarian assistance safely and with dignity

*Restore the flow of commercial goods and local production capacities

“Immediate action must be taken to end the hostilities and allow for unimpeded, large-scale, life-saving humanitarian response,” the warning read. This is the only path to stopping further deaths and catastrophic human suffering,” The IPC said.

tracy-lynn.ruiters@inl.co.za

Weekend Argus 

Source link