Defining the News
Rome, Italy — Half of Gazans are experiencing “catastrophic” hunger, with famine projected to hit the north of the territory by May unless there is urgent intervention, a United Nations-backed food security assessment warned Monday.
“To have 50 percent of an entire population in catastrophic, near-famine levels, is unprecedented,” Beth Bechdol, deputy director general of the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization , told AFP.The WFP said this was the “highest number of people ever recorded as facing catastrophic hunger” under the IPC system, originally developed in 2004.
“That is why we believe so strongly that everything must be done to scale up the delivery of humanitarian assistance,” he said.The bloodiest-ever Gaza war broke out after Hamas launched an unprecedented attack on Israel on October 7, to which Israel responded with a relentless bombing campaign and ground offensive in the Hamas-run Palestinian territory.
A famine is declared when 20 percent of households face an extreme food shortage — which is the case in Gaza, the UN says. In a statement, the World Health Organization pointed to the lasting effects of malnutrition, particularly on children, warning that the “current situation will have long-term effects on the lives and health of thousands”.WFP chief economist Arif Husain, said the final criteria for declaring a famine — the mortality rate — could be met within weeks.“Waiting for a retrospective famine classification before acting is indefensible,” the IPC said.