The latest analysis of acute food insecurity in the Gaza Strip concludes that as long as Israel's war on Gaza continues and humanitarian access is restricted by its military and political authorities, the risk of famine remains high throughout the territory. The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) report on Gaza, released on Tuesday, paints a stark picture of ongoing hunger, finding that 96 percent of the population faces acute food insecurity at crisis level or worse, with nearly half a million people in catastrophic conditions.
According to the analysis, 2.15 million of the 2.25 million people analyzed will experience high levels of acute food insecurity between now and September 2024, with 745,000 people (33 percent) classified in emergency levels (IPC Phase 4) and over 495,000 people (22 percent) still facing catastrophic levels of acute food insecurity (IPC Phase 5).
“To truly turn the corner and prevent famine, adequate and sustained levels of humanitarian assistance must be provided, including: greater availability of fresh food and better nutritional diversity, clean water and sanitation, access to health care and the rebuilding of clinics and hospitals,” the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) said in a statement following the report’s release.
“A broad, multi-sectoral response is urgently needed.”
Recent data show that more than half of the households reported that they often had no food in the house, and more than 20 percent went whole days and nights without eating. To buy food, more than half had to exchange their clothes for money, and a third resorted to picking up garbage to sell.
The food security assessment on Gaza confirms the concerns of UN agencies about the persistence of severe hunger and highlights the critical importance of sustained access to all areas of the Gaza Strip. The IPC report warns that the humanitarian space in Gaza continues to shrink and the ability to safely deliver aid to populations in dire need is diminishing.
On Tuesday, the IPC Famine Review Committee (FRC) also released its latest findings and recommendations. It concludes that the situation in Gaza remains catastrophic and that there is a high and persistent risk of famine throughout the Gaza Strip.
Despite an increase in the amount of food and non-food items allowed into the northern governorates, the protracted nature of the crisis means that this risk remains at least as high as at any time in recent months, while noting that "the available evidence does not indicate that famine is currently occurring".
The new IPC report shows a slight improvement in the northern governorates of Gaza compared to the previous assessment in March, which warned of a potential famine in the north by the end of May. Under increased international pressure, Israel has begun to allow more aid into northern Gaza.
But the threat of famine remains, with 225,000 people in the north still facing emergency or catastrophic levels of food insecurity.
“The improvement shows the difference that greater access can make. Increased food deliveries to the north and nutrition services have helped to reduce the very worst levels of hunger, leaving a still desperate situation,” WFP said in its statement.
The UN agency said it is also deeply concerned that the severely limited ability of humanitarian organizations to deliver critical assistance in the south is jeopardizing the progress that has been made.
In the southern governorates, the situation deteriorated following Israeli attacks in Rafah since May 6, which displaced more than 1.3 million people and severely restricted humanitarian access, with the closure of the Rafah crossing and disruptions at the Karem Shalom crossing.
The further concentration of displaced people in areas with significantly reduced water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), health and other essential infrastructure increases the risk of disease outbreaks, which would have a catastrophic impact on the nutritional and health status of large segments of the population.
Meanwhile, the security vacuum has fostered lawlessness and disorder, severely hampering humanitarian operations, according to UN agencies. Since June 18, a breakdown in public order has hampered the ability of aid workers to collect aid from Kerem Shalom.
WFP now fears that southern Gaza could soon see the same catastrophic levels of hunger that have been recorded in the northern areas. The IPC said only an end to the fighting and sustained humanitarian access can reduce the risk of famine in Gaza.
The IPC is a collaborative initiative involving more than 20 partners, including governments, UN agencies, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs). The initiative uses global, scientific standards to assess levels of food insecurity. The IPC Acute Food Insecurity Scale consists of five classifications: (1) minimal/none, (2) stressed, (3) crisis, (4) emergency, and (5) catastrophe/famine.
The latest IPC update is based on data collected remotely from May 27 to June 4 by more than 35 experts from 27 agencies using standard IPC protocols. The IPC does not declare famine, but provides the evidence for an official declaration.
Despite some improvements in March and April, Israeli attacks in the northern governorates and the Rafah offensive resulted in very limited humanitarian access to and within the Gaza Strip, particularly in Deir al-Balah, Khan Younis and Rafah, hampering the safe and equitable delivery of life-saving humanitarian assistance.
“The figures in this report are a shameful testament to the failure of world leaders to heed earlier warnings and hold Israel to account for its deliberate use of starvation as a weapon of war,” said Sally Abi Khalil, international charity Oxfam’s regional director for the Middle East. “
“The slight improvement of conditions in the north shows that Israel can end human suffering when it chooses — but just as quickly those gains can vanish when access is again constrained, as the report warns it is now.”
Despite its legal obligations under international law and the interim measures ordered by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on January 26, March 28, and May 24, Israel continues to massively obstruct the delivery of aid to Gaza. Starvation as a weapon of war is a war crime.
The Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory and Israel found in a recent report that Israeli authorities are responsible for the war crime of starvation as a method of warfare, among numerous other war crimes and crimes against humanity.
In May, the Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Karim Khan, announced that he had requested arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in connection with the war in Gaza.
Khan said he has reasonable grounds to believe that Netanyahu and Gallant bear criminal responsibility for a wide range of war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Gaza, as prohibited by the Rome Statute of the ICC. These alleged crimes include the use of starvation as a method of warfare.
Widespread, intense and sustained ground and air operations by Israeli forces continue and have resulted in over 37,700 deaths and 85,500 injuries, displaced nearly 2 million people, damaged or destroyed the majority of buildings, and devastated resources and infrastructure essential to survival, including throughout the food, health and water systems.
Among the dead are at least 274 aid workers, 197 UN staff, 500 health workers and 152 journalists. More than 10,000 people - including thousands of children - are missing and presumed dead. In total, Israel's air and ground operations in the Gaza Strip since October 7 last year have killed, wounded or left missing more than 130,000 people, or more than 5 percent of Gaza's population.
In a statement on Tuesday, the UN Human Rights Office (OHCHR) condemned the reported killing of 500 health workers in Gaza since October 7. OHCHR said these killings have taken place against a backdrop of systematic attacks on hospitals and other medical facilities in violation of the laws of war.
“As the occupying power in Gaza, Israel must fulfill its obligations under international humanitarian law to maintain medical and hospital establishments and services, public health and hygiene, and protect and respect the wounded and the sick, the infirm, expectant mothers, and children,” the UN Human Rights Office said.
The killing, detention and enforced disappearance of health workers in Gaza, combined with the systematic targeting and destruction of hospitals and other medical facilities, has had a devastating impact on Gazans. The collapse of the health system has added to the shocking levels of death and suffering among Gaza's civilian population.
Over 60 percent of all housing units in Gaza, a densely populated area, have been either destroyed or damaged since the outbreak of hostilities. This includes more than 70,000 housing units destroyed and more than 290,000 damaged. Entire neighborhoods have been leveled. As of January 2024, more than 60 percent of residential buildings and more than 80 percent of commercial buildings had been either destroyed or damaged, according to the World Bank.
Further information
Full Text: GAZA STRIP: IPC Acute Food Insecurity Special Snapshot, May 1 - September 30, 2024, IPC, report, published June 25,2024
https://www.ipcinfo.org/fileadmin/user_upload/ipcinfo/docs/IPC_Gaza_Strip_Acute_Food_Insecurity_MaySept2024_Special_Snapshot.pdf
Full Text: WFP response to new IPC Food Security Assessment on Gaza, WFP, press release, published June 25, 2024
https://www.wfp.org/news/wfp-response-new-ipc-food-security-assessment-gaza
Full text: Famine Review: Gaza Strip, June 2024 - Conclusions and Recommendations, IPC Famine Review Committee, report, released June 25, 2024
https://www.ipcinfo.org/fileadmin/user_upload/ipcinfo/docs/IPC_Famine_Review_Committee_Report_Gaza_June2024.pdf
Full text: Gaza hunger figures reflect “shameful failure” of global leaders: Oxfam, Oxfam Aotearoa, statement, released June 26, 2024
https://www.oxfam.org.nz/news-media/gaza-hunger-figures-reflect-shameful-failure-of-global-leaders-oxfam/
Full text: UN Human Rights Office - OPT: Statement on the killing and arbitrary detention of health workers in Gaza, UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, statement, released June 25, 2024
https://reliefweb.int/report/occupied-palestinian-territory/un-human-rights-office-opt-statement-killing-and-arbitrary-detention-health-workers-gaza