In Pictures

High risk of famine amid Israel’s war on Gaza and aid restrictions

At least 495,000 Palestinians are facing ‘catastrophic food insecurity’, UN’s hunger monitoring system says.

A boy walks with a jerrycan after filling up with others from a truck loaded with water cisterns in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip — A boy walks with a jerrycan after filling it with water brought by truck in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip. [Eyad Baba/AFP]

The Gaza Strip remains at high risk of famine as Israel’s war on the enclave persists and access to aid is restricted, although the delivery of limited supplies has slowed the projected spread of extreme hunger in the north, a global monitor has said.

More than 495,000 people across the besieged Palestinian territory are facing “catastrophic food insecurity,” according to the United Nation’s hunger monitoring system, the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC).

That is down from a forecast of 1.1 million in the previous update three months ago, but is still more than one-fifth of Gaza’s population, the IPC said on Tuesday.

Households suffer an extreme lack of food, leading to acute malnutrition in young children, an imminent risk of starvation, and deaths, it reported.

More than 20 percent of people reported going entire days and nights without eating. Overall, about 96 percent of the population will continue to face high levels of acute food insecurity until September.

The IPC assessment said that to buy food, more than half of Palestinian households surveyed had to sell clothes and one-third gathered and sold rubbish.

Deliveries of food and nutrition services in March and April seemed to have reduced the severity of hunger in northern Gaza, where the IPC had previously forecast a likelihood of famine.

However, Israel’s offensive around the southern city of Rafah from early May and other hostilities and displacement have led to a renewed deterioration in recent weeks, it added.

“The humanitarian space in the Gaza Strip continues to shrink and the ability to safely deliver assistance to populations is dwindling. The recent trajectory is negative and highly unstable,” the update said.

The Famine Review Committee, a group of experts which reviews IPC findings, said in a report also released on Tuesday that there was “extreme human suffering” in Gaza and the risk of famine had not diminished.

“Eight months of extreme pressure on the lives of the population make them much more vulnerable to collapse into famine,” it said.

Palestinians gather to receive food cooked by a charity kitchen, amid food scarcity — Palestinians gather to receive food cooked by a charity kitchen amid food scarcity in Khan Younis, southern Gaza. [Mohammed Salem/Reuters]

A doctor checks Jana Ayad, a malnourished Palestinian girl, as she receives treatment at the International Medical Corps field hospital in Deir el-Balah in central Gaza. [Mohammed Salem/Reuters]

A displaced Palestinian woman prepares food at a school classroom where she shelters, amid food scarcity — A displaced Palestinian woman prepares food at a school classroom where she shelters in Khan Younis. [Mohammed Salem/Reuters]

Boys walk with jerrycans to fill up from a water truck in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip — The Israeli military's offensive in Rafah led to the closure of the crossing on Gaza's border with Egypt, which had been a main route for the delivery of food and other supplies, as well as an evacuation point for civilians who were critically ill or injured. [Eyad Baba/AFP]

People gather to fill up their water containers from a truck loaded with water cisterns in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip — The closure, along with disruptions at Gaza's Karem Abu Salem (Kerem Shalom) crossing, reduced humanitarian access to two million people in southern Gaza, said the IPC update. [Eyad Baba/AFP]

A man pulls a cart loaded with water containers after filling up from a water truck as he walks along an alley between tents sheltering displaced Palestinians in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip — Southern Gaza "may soon reach a tipping point that rapidly leads to a descent into famine", the Famine Review Committee said. [Eyad Baba/AFP]

A displaced Palestinian woman, Amal Nsair, fans her son as he sleeps in a school where they shelter, during hot weather and power cut — Amal Nsair, a displaced Palestinian woman, fans her son as he sleeps in a school where they shelter, during hot weather and power cuts in Khan Younis. [Mohammed Salem/Reuters]

Palestinians gather to fill containers with water amid shortages as Israel-Hamas conflict continues, in Khan Younis — Palestinians gather to fill containers with water amid shortages in Khan Younis.[Mohammed Salem/Reuters]