Beirut: half a million people in the Strip in Gaza face hunger, said a world hunger monitor on Monday, warning that the enclave with Israeli blocks faces a high risk of famine at the end of September.
The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (CPI) report cited significant deterioration since October. Forecast that 2.1 million people in Gaza, approximately the entire population, will probably experience high levels of acute food insecurity, with 469,500 projected at “catastrophic” levels, the most serious stage. The previous IPC analysis in October found 133,000 people in that category.
Israel sealed Gaza at the beginning of March when he resumed military action against Hamas after a high fire collapsed.
Israeli government spokesman David Mencer said that the CPI had “constantly spoken about famine; the famine has never happened due to Israel’s efforts to get more help.” He blamed Hamas for causing hunger to allegedly stealing help. Hamas denies this, accusing Israel of using hunger as a weapon.
Warns that half a million people face hunger
The IPC report stated that Israeli military plans and the “persistent inability” of help agencies to deliver essential goods means a “high risk” of famine during the projection period from May 11 to September 30.
“Immediate action is essential to avoid more deaths, hunger and acute malnutrition, and a descent to famine,” the report urged. The famine statement requires at least 20 percent of people who face extreme food shortage, high child malnutrition and high mortality rates due to starvation or related diseases.
The report projected that almost 71,000 cases of acute malnutrition, including 14,100 severe cases, among children, from 6 to 59 months, occurred between April 2025 and March 2026.
The report “It really shows that the situation in Gaza has deteriorated dramatically in recent months,” said Beth Bechdol, deputy director of the Food and Agricultural Organization. He pointed out the blockade since the beginning of March “has really prevented the delivery of humanitarian and even essential commercial supplies.”
While observing that the high two -month fire had allowed temporary relief of acute food and malnutrition shortage, the IPC report said the current blockade had reversed the situation. The key findings showed that 1.95 million people, or 93PC of the population in the coastal enclave, live through high levels of acute food insecurity, including 244,000 that experience the most serious or “catastrophic levels.”
Posted in Dawn, May 13, 2025
