Famine is currently occurring in Gaza City and its surrounding area, according to a global hunger monitor supported by the UN.
The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IFSPC) had previously warned that Gaza was in danger of famine, but now it is clear that the recent events, including a new Israeli offensive, more displacement, and weeks of total Israeli blockade of the territory, have made famine a reality in Gaza.
If nothing is done to stop Israel’s war and increase humanitarian aid, the IPC experts warn that famine will spread to other parts of Gaza. Let’s examine this more closely.
What were the report’s main conclusions?
The main finding is that Gaza is now experiencing famine. More than 500, 000 people in the Gaza Strip are currently “catastrophic conditions,” according to the IPC, which is the highest level in its food insecurity classification and is “characterized by starvation, destitution, and death.”
The IPC found that 30% of the population is in dire straits, with 50% of those in Gaza City being in “emergency” mode. North Gaza governorate’s conditions are reportedly “as severe – or worse” than those in Gaza, but the IPC is unable to categorize the region based on incomplete information.
By the end of September, the IPC anticipates that the governorates of Deir el-Balah and Khan Younis will also experience famine. According to the IPC, 25 and 20 percent of the population in those governorates, respectively, are already classified as being in a level 5 catastrophe.
Additionally, it anticipates that 132, 000 children between the ages of five and six will be affected by acute malnutrition before June of next year, as well as 55, 000 pregnant and breastfeeding women and 25, 000 infants who require urgent nutrition assistance.
The IPC did not examine Rafah, Gaza’s southernmost governorate, because it has largely lost Palestinian residents as a result of Israeli military operations.
How did the IPC arrive at the conclusion that Gaza is experiencing a famine?
The worst category of food insecurity is “catastrophe,” according to the IPC’s five-stage food insecurity classification. When “households experience an extreme lack of food and/or are unable to meet other basic needs even after using coping techniques to their fullest,” a catastrophe is defined as a “catastrophe.”
“Starvation, death, destitution, and extremely critical acute malnutrition are evident” in a level 5 catastrophe.
However, this is distinct from a famine classification. There must be clear evidence that two of the three thresholds for acute malnutrition, malnutrition, and mortality have been met in order for a “famine with reasonable evidence,” as it currently has been in Gaza. The thresholds are for at least 20% of households to “have an extreme lack of food and face starvation and destitution,” for at least 30% of children under the age of five to be affected by acute malnutrition, and for at least two deaths per 10,000 per day as a result of food insecurity.
What is the IPC’s claim that Gaza is in a state of famine?
Conflict, displacement, restricted access, and the collapse of the food system are the four factors the IPC claims are “man-made.”
More than 62, 000 Palestinians have been killed by Israel’s conflict in Gaza in the 22 months since its start. The IPC points out that in July, there were 119 fatalities on average per day, nearly twice the previous month’s average.
The IPC reports that 1.9 million people have been displaced more than once since the start of the war as a result of Israel’s continued offensives. The constant moving and a lack of safe lodging have all contributed to the worsening of Gaza’s food security situation, as well as the ban on fishing and the destruction or inaccessibility of 98 percent of its cropland.
In mid-March, Israel imposed a total blockade on Gaza’s access to food and other supplies, including water, medicine, and fuel. Although the total blockade has been lifted, strict import restrictions still apply.
What makes the IPC determination so crucial?
The IPC is recognized as the main tool used by the UN and the international community to assess global food insecurity levels.
The information provided by the IPC is crucial for preventing famine and preventing future food crises. It can also encourage international cooperation to intervene quickly enough to stop famine or put an end to it once it has begun.
A Famine Review Committee made up of “leading independent international food security, nutrition, and mortality experts” is required to assess a famine before it is classified in a complex process that involves several stages, with input from a variety of organizations and individuals. This committee must conduct a review to ensure the analysis’ technical rigor and neutrality before the results are confirmed and made public, according to the IPC.
In Sudan in 2024, famines occurred in Sudan in 2011, South Sudan in 2017 and in Sudan in 2017.
What has been the response?
The famine was described as a “man-made disaster, a moral indictment, and a failure of humanity itself,” according to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
As the occupying power, Guterres claimed that Israel had “unequivocal obligations” under international law to allow the movement of food and medical supplies to Gaza.
According to Guterres, “famine is not just about food; it also involves the deliberate collapse of the systems necessary for human survival.” “People are starving,” he said. Children are euthanizing. And they are failing those who have a duty to act.
Action is being demanded by humanitarian organizations.
The International Rescue Committee’s president, David Miliband, called for the findings of today to be a wake-up call for the international community. More lives will be lost to starvation and disease without a ceasefire and immediate, unrestricted humanitarian access.
Israel, on the other hand, has refuted the findings, saying that in Gaza there wasn’t a famine in spite of the IPC’s evidence.
