UNITED NATIONS — Hunger experts say there is “a strong likelihood” that famine is imminent in parts of northern Gaza where Israeli forces are conducting a major offensive.
An alert issued Friday by the experts calls the humanitarian situation throughout the Gaza Strip “extremely grave and rapidly deteriorating.”
The Famine Review Committee said all actors in the war in Gaza must take immediate action “within days not weeks … to avert and alleviate this catastrophic situation.”
It stressed that this includes not only combatants but those who have influence on them.
The alert follows an Oct. 17 report from the committee that said Palestinians in the entire territory face acute food insecurity. That’s the emergency level, Phase 4, on the five-level classification system for hunger. Phase 5 is Catastrophe-Famine.
Friday’s alert pointed to recent significant developments, including the impact of Israel’s designation of northern Gaza as a combat zone and orders for the entire population to evacuate,;a lower level of aid shipments than at any time since October 2023; and food access reaching “critical levels and deteriorating.”
The committee is part of the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, which comprises 15 U.N. and other organizations that monitor global hunger and food security.
