The situation is particularly dire in the north of Gaza where there are about 300,000 people, the UN says.
Israel has been accused of continuing to "systematically and deliberately block and undermine" the delivery of aid into Gaza. / Photo: AA Archive
"To have 50 percent of an entire population in catastrophic, near-famine levels, is unprecedented," Beth Bechdol, the deputy director general of the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization , told AFP.It added:"This is the highest number of people ever recorded as facing catastrophic hunger" under the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification partnership, which published its latest report on Monday.
"Famine is imminent in the northern governorates and projected to occur anytime between mid-March and May 2024," the IPC report said of Gaza. According to the WFP,"one in three children below the age of two is now acutely malnourished, or 'wasted'.Arif Husain, WFP's chief economist, warned the final criteria for declaring a famine - the mortality rate - would"happen any time from now until the end of May".
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