Half a million people in the Gaza Strip, or one in five Palestinians, face famine.
The entire rest of the population suffers from high levels of acute food insecurity, according to a recent report in the integrated classification of the integrated food security phase (IPC).
“The risk of famine in the Gaza Strip is not only possible – it is more and more likely,” explains the IPC.
For more than 73 days, Israel blocked all food, water and medicines when entering Gaza, creating an artificial crisis, with the CIP warning that famine could be declared at any time by September.
What is famine and when is it reached?
Famine is the worst level of hunger, where people face serious food shortages, generally malnutrition and high levels of death due to famine.
According to UN criteria, famine is declared when:
- At least 20% (a fifth) of households face extreme food shortages
- More than 30% of children suffer from acute malnutrition
- At least two children out of 10,000 or four in 10,000 children die every day of famine or hunger causes.
Famine does not only concern hunger; It is the worst humanitarian emergency, indicating a complete collapse of access to food, water and the systems necessary for survival.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), since the complete blockade of Israel began on March 2, at least 57 children died of the effects of malnutrition.
What does famine do to the body?
Israel uses famine as a weapon of war. A report published by Doctors of the World (Medecins du Monde) indicates this week that in just 18 months, acute malnutrition in Gaza has reached levels similar to those found in countries that have hardened prolonged humanitarian crises extending over several decades.
Famine is when the human body is deprived of food for so long that it suffers and dies often.
Estimates say that the body can last up to three weeks without food, but the duration varies between individuals.
Famine occurs on three stages. The first begins as soon as a meal is jumped, the second occurs with a period of prolonged fast where the body uses the fat stored for energy.
The third stage and often fatal, it is when all stored fats have been exhausted and the body turns into bone and muscle as sources of energy.
The effect on children
Children are the most vulnerable to the continuous blockade of Israel of essential foods.
According to the United Nations, more than 9,000 children have been admitted to the hospital for treatment for acute malnutrition since the start of the year.
The IPC provides that by March 2026, nearly 71,000 children under the age of five will suffer from acute malnutrition, including 14,100 children faced with serious cases of malnutrition.
The effect of malnutrition on children varies, but the first 1,000 days of the life of a child, which includes pregnancy up to two years, are essential for the healthy development of a child.
Malnutrition leads to a ratio of height / weight excluding proportion, growth of delay and ultimately death.
Earlier this month, at Kamal Adwan Hospital in Beit Lahiya, northern Gaza, Dr Ahmed Abu Nasir said the situation had become worse because of the blockade.
“Children are at their growth stage and seriously need certain nutrients, including proteins and fats,” the pediatrician told Tel Aviv Tribune. “These are not available in the Gaza Strip, especially in the North.”
Pregnant and breastfeeding women will also have to be treated for malnutrition, with 17,000 women faced with this risk.
“Finding a single meal has become an impossible quest”
The entire population of Gaza, around 2.1 million people who remain, face levels of food shortages that threaten their existence.
Earlier this month, Ahmad al-Najjar, a Palestinian moved to Gaza City, told Tel Aviv Tribune: “Finding a single meal has become an impossible quest.”
Despite a large number of trucks carrying vital supplies that accumulate on the border between Egypt and the Gaza Strip, the Palestinians of Gaza have used the sale of waste to offer the prices of inflated food on the eyes.
Some 93% of the Gaza population is at risk of food insecurity above the crisis levels indicated by the IPC. If the situation does not change, the IPC indicated that out of these 2.1 million people:
- 470,000 people (22% of the population) will face catastrophic levels of food insecurity – the most serious phase, which indicates famine, leading to famine and death.
- More than a million (54%) will be faced with food levels of food insecurity, the second most serious phase where there is a high risk of critical malnutrition.
- 500,000 people (24%) will face levels of food insecurity in crisis, the third most serious CIP phase where households are faced with incoherent food consumption to the point of using extreme measures to guarantee food.
Essentially, as little as a month, the whole population of Gaza could be hungry.
The characteristics of malnutrition and famine are unbeatable in Gaza, with seriously weighted children and babies. In children, severe protein deficiency causes liquid retention and swollen abdomen.
Where is Gaza most at risk?
Food insecurity through the Gaza Strip seriously affects all areas of the blocked enclave.
The 25 bakeries supported by the World Food Program (WFP) ended in early April due to the lack of supplies, and food stocks for most of the 177 hot meals kitchens were exhausted.
Some governors are experiencing more serious levels of hunger. According to the IPC:
- 30% of the northern Gaza faces catastrophic levels of food insecurity, 60% are faced with emergency levels, while 10% face crisis levels.
- 25% of Rafah faces catastrophic levels of food insecurity, 60% faced at emergency levels and 15% face crisis levels.
The IPC claims that the continuous blockade of Israel “would probably lead to an additional mass movement within and between governors”, because the elements essential to the survival of people will be exhausted.