A global monitor shared on Tuesday that Gaza is at a high risk of famine as the war between Hamas and Israel continues and access to aid in the region is restricted.
The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) shared in an update on Tuesday that nearly half a million people across the Gaza Strip are facing a “catastrophic” level of food insecurity.
While that forecast is down from the 1.1 million said to be at risk three months ago, it is still one-fifth the population of Gaza.
The IPC said that to buy food, more than half of the households in Gaza were forced to sell clothes, while one-third said they gathered and sold rubbish.
Over 20% of those who talked with the IPC reported going days and nights without food, and the situation doesn’t look to be getting better soon.
The “catastrophic” food insecurity level means that households are suffering an extreme lack of food, leading to acute malnutrition in young children, an imminent risk of starvation, and death.
The IPC is backed by the United Nations and says that deliveries of food and nutrition services in March and April seemed to have reduced hunger severity in northern Gaza, where a famine was previously thought imminent.
But while things were improving in Gaza, Israel’s offensive around Rafah has sent things back in the wrong direction.
“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.
As of now, the Famine Review Committee says that there is “extreme human suffering” in Gaza and that the risk of famine is still present.
“Eight months of extreme pressure on the lives of the population make them much more vulnerable to collapse into famine,” the committee said.