Gaza famine risk eases as aid rises, but food crisis remains severe

Deiral-balah,UPDATED: Jul 23, 2026 23:06 IST

The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), the world’s leading authority on food insecurity, said on Thursday that conditions in Gaza have improved since famine was declared in parts of the Palestinian territory last year. It said reduced fighting and increased aid allowed by Israel had a “significant impact, albeit unevenly across areas”, but warned that the overall situation remains at crisis levels.

The report said most families in the war-hit enclave still do not have nearly enough to eat, and there is no immediate prospect of pulling Gaza’s 2.1 million Palestinians out of the crisis. It warned that “even small disruptions to humanitarian access could rapidly reverse recent gains”, while long queues at charity kitchens and high prices continue to affect daily life.

The IPC, a panel of food security experts used by the United Nations and aid agencies, assesses issues such as extreme food shortages, malnutrition among young children and deaths linked to starvation. Last August, it confirmed the most severe classification, famine, in the Gaza Governorate, which includes Gaza City, marking its first famine declaration in the Middle East. In its latest report, all five governorates in Gaza were classified as being in Phase 3 “crisis” conditions, while more than 200,000 residents were estimated to be in the more severe Phase 4 “emergency” category. It added that while acute food insecurity remains at crisis levels, acute malnutrition has fallen to levels it classifies as acceptable.

The report said Gaza’s wider living conditions remain extremely harsh. Israel’s military controls more than half of the territory, leaving Palestinians confined to tent camps and heavily damaged urban neighbourhoods. Failing sewage systems have led to recurring disease outbreaks and inconsistent access to basic services. Rana Abu Bakr, a displaced mother who said her family relies on a charity kitchen in Khan Younis every day, said, “The situation is very tragic. There’s no water, no food, nothing to drink. Prices are exorbitant.” The IPC also said long periods without enough food have led to a rise in reported cases of stunting among children, a condition in which growth is permanently impaired. UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell said, “Many children are still going hungry, and some children may never fully recover from prolonged lack of proper nutrition.” According to the territory’s health ministry, Israeli strikes and shelling have also killed more than 1,185 people since last October’s agreement.

Israel rejected the IPC’s findings and has strongly denied allegations of widespread hunger and manmade famine in Gaza. After imposing an almost total blockade on humanitarian aid from early March to mid-May last year, it began allowing more aid into the territory. Israel controls the entry of both aid and commercial food supplies into Gaza. COGAT, the Israeli military body that oversees humanitarian affairs in Gaza, said the IPC had ignored Israeli data showing that nearly three times the number of trucks recommended by the UN World Food Program were entering the territory. Israel said the bigger problem was food distribution in Hamas-controlled areas, not the volume entering Gaza. Aid groups, however, say Israel has increasingly relied on commercial traders instead of humanitarian organisations, and medical workers say this has left many people eating less nutritious food. Tanya Haj-Hassan, an American paediatrician who has worked in Gaza, said earlier this year, “A lot of these things coming in on these trucks are harmful,” adding that sugary drinks and other packaged foods could shock children’s bodies after months of acute malnutrition. COGAT has said commercial goods now make up about half of what enters Gaza, but denied giving them priority over aid.

The IPC said the recent improvements remain fragile and could deteriorate. As global attention has shifted to Iran, efforts to advance reconstruction, demilitarise Gaza or move governance to a US-led Board of Peace have largely stalled. The report projected that about 1.4 million people will face acute food insecurity through the end of the year, around 200,000 more than it had estimated earlier. It also warned that programmes, including those for pregnant and breastfeeding women, were shrinking because of funding constraints and uncertainty over whether Israel would continue allowing international aid groups to operate. The report noted that Israel introduced new registration rules for international NGOs last year that require organisations to disclose extensive information, which some aid groups say could put staff at risk and force them to stop operations.

Ross Smith, the World Food Program’s director of emergency preparedness and response, said, “These gains are good, but they are due to the level of humanitarian assistance - particularly food assistance - we’ve been able to bring into Gaza in the past seven months. It’s really critical that these gains are maintained. And for that, we need to have continued access and continued funding.” In sum, the IPC said Gaza has moved away from famine conditions seen in parts of the territory last year, but hunger, high prices, poor living conditions and uncertainty over aid continue to keep the enclave in crisis.

With PTI Inputs

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