Image Source: Reuters
World – The World Food Programme (WFP) and UNICEF have warned that the entire population of Gaza is now at risk of famine. Renewed fighting, ongoing border closures, and a severe shortage of food have created a humanitarian emergency.
The organisations reported that conditions have worsened dramatically since 2 March, when aid deliveries were halted entirely, undoing the modest progress made during the earlier ceasefire.
“Families in Gaza are starving while the food they need is sitting at the border,” said WFP Executive Director Cindy McCain.
“We can’t get it to them because of the renewed conflict and the total ban on humanitarian aid imposed in early March. If we wait until after a famine is confirmed, it will already be too late for many people.”
Moreover, according to the latest update from the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), 470,000 people are facing catastrophic levels of hunger. Every person in Gaza is now experiencing acute food insecurity. The report highlights a sharp rise in malnutrition, with over 71,000 children and 17,000 mothers in urgent need of treatment, up from 60,000 at the start of the year.
The IPC warns that if the blockade continues and military operations intensify, food insecurity, malnutrition, and death rates will rise beyond famine thresholds.
Children are among the hardest hit, particularly in the northern areas, Gaza City, and Rafah. The collapse of health services and the lack of clean water have further worsened the crisis.
UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell said, “The risk of famine does not arrive suddenly. It unfolds where access to food is blocked, where health systems are decimated, and where children are left without the bare minimum to survive. Hunger and acute malnutrition are now a daily reality for children in Gaza.”
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Food and Aid Stuck at Borders as Needs Soar
Despite the escalating crisis, food and nutrition aid remains at the border. More than 116,000 metric tons of food, enough to feed a million people for up to four months, are ready for delivery, along with hundreds of pallets of critical nutrition supplies.
But with crossings closed for over two months, the longest blockade to date, food prices inside Gaza have soared far beyond what most families can afford.
WFP ran out of food stocks for hot meal kitchens on 25 April, and all 25 of its supported bakeries shut down weeks earlier due to a lack of wheat flour and fuel.
UNICEF has also run out of preventive nutrition supplies, rapidly depleting its emergency treatment stock.
Both agencies said they are ready to deliver aid once access is granted. They urge all parties to allow humanitarian supplies into Gaza without delay and uphold their responsibilities under international humanitarian law.
