The risk of famine has spread to the entire population in Gaza

“Hunger and impediments to humanitarian work are being used as weapons of war in Gaza, as the latest IPC food insecurity analysis shows,” says Natalia Anguera, Head of Middle East Operations at Action contre la Faim.

The entire population in the Gaza Strip is at risk of famine and highly food insecure, according to the alarming statement released today by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC). Families in Gaza continue to face wholly insufficient access to nutritious food. In December 2023, the IPC report indicated that 2 in 10 Gazans were one step away from famine; in March 2024, the figures revealed that 5 in 10 were. Now, although the number of people in Phases 4 and 5 has decreased thanks to food deliveries and nutritional care provided in the north in recent months by NGOs such as Action contre la Faim, according to the analysis, the population at risk of famine has expanded throughout the Gaza Strip.

For the IPC, a famine exists when it can be verified that conditions of food insecurity, malnutrition and mortality are expected to meet certain thresholds. “The obstruction of humanitarian aid workers movements along the Strip, and therefore inability to collect sufficient data, leads to a lot of uncertainty regarding the situation in Gaza, especially about the situation of the most vulnerable. If the parties to the conflict and the international community wait to act until a Famine classification is made, it will be too late. We will have collectively failed to save preventable deaths”, explains Anguera.

“Today we know that more than half of the 2.3 million people in Gaza have no food at home. This must not continue for another day. It is urgent that humanitarian organisations like ours can reach all the people in need,” says Anguera.

The availability of basic food staples is extremely limited, and severe price inflation has created economic barriers which prevent people from accessing the little food that is available. “It is important to remember that even when families do get some food, many do not have cooking utensils, water or fuel with which to process food. The population is already very fragile. The only way to prevent and stop famine is with a ceasefire that allows a full multisectoral humanitarian response”, explains Hélène Pasquier, Food Security and Livelihoods Officer at Action Against Hunger.

“Most agricultural land, wells, roads and other areas essential for producing, processing and distributing food have been destroyed. This, coupled with the blockade, has created an unsustainable dependency on humanitarian aid in Gaza. Rehabilitating food production systems as soon as it is viable will be key”, adds Pasquier.

Even so, serious security risks and bureaucratic impediments continue to restrict the delivery of sufficient and varied nutritious food. “A ceasefire remains the first step to enable a safe and durable increase in the delivery of life-saving humanitarian aid. Only a ceasefire can protect the Palestinian population in Gaza,” concludes Anguera.

For the past eight and a half months, Action contre la Faim has continued to work in extreme and insecure conditions. Our humanitarian response has included nutrition activities, distribution of fresh and dry food, hot meals, cleaning services, water trucking, solid waste management and distribution of hygiene kits and shelter. Despite the escalation of the conflict, in recent weeks, our teams have built a kitchen to deliver hot meals to thousands of displaced people.