Worst-case famine scenario playing out in Gaza, warns hunger monitor

It urges immediate action to end hostilities and allow unimpeded, large-scale aid

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GENEVA - Famine is "playing out" in the Gaza Strip, a global hunger monitor said in an alert issued on July 29, as international criticism of Israel intensifies over rapidly worsening conditions in the Palestinian enclave.

"The worst-case scenario of famine is currently playing out in the Gaza Strip," said the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) alert. "Mounting evidence shows that widespread starvation, malnutrition and disease are driving a rise in hunger-related deaths."

The IPC alert does not formally classify Gaza as being in famine. Such a classification can be made only through an analysis, which the IPC said it would now conduct "without delay".

The IPC is a global initiative that partners 21 aid groups, international organizations and UN agencies, and assesses the extent of hunger suffered by a population.

War has raged in Gaza between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas for the past 22 months. Facing global condemnation over the humanitarian crisis, Israel said on July 27 it would halt military operations for 10 hours a day in parts of the Palestinian enclave and allow new aid corridors.

For an area to be classified as being in famine, at least 20 per cent of people must be suffering extreme food shortages, with one in three children acutely malnourished and two people out of every 10,000 dying daily from starvation or malnutrition and disease.