Hunger in Gaza reaches a breaking point
The hunger crisis in Gaza has intensified to a threshold where delays translate into loss of life for many. This alarming forecast affects roughly half of the Strip’s residents, rising to as much as 70 percent in the north, unless urgent external action is taken. The warning comes not from a handful of voices but from the eighth Food Security Information Network report, prepared in partnership with the United Nations and its agencies, including the FAO and WFP, with involvement from the United States and the European Union.
The situation has accelerated at an unprecedented pace, according to this assessment. Today, about half of Gaza’s population, around 1.1 million people, is already in Phase five, Catastrophe. This is the most severe level of hunger defined by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, or IPC, used to measure such crises. In the northern region of the Strip, the share reaches 70 percent.
The gravest phase
New data projecting through July show the share in Phase five has doubled since the December to February period, when roughly a quarter of Gaza’s 2.2 million residents faced Phase five. Gaza has become the world’s most severe hunger crisis since the IPC system began tracking these conditions, with every resident in the Strip now in Phase three or higher.
Further analysis shows that another 38 percent of Gaza’s population is currently exposed to Phase four, the Emergency level, while 12 percent are in Phase three, the Crisis level. By contrast, nobody remains in Phase one, the Minimal level, or Phase two, the Stressed level, indicating a broad rise in food insecurity. As of March 2024, imminent famine loomed over Gaza, and nearly one in three children suffered acute malnutrition amid ongoing hostilities and restricted access to essential supplies.
281 million people affected
Gaza is part of a broader pattern, with the report focusing on 59 food crises worldwide that affect about 281.5 million people, roughly 21.5 percent of those analyzed. While global conditions showed a modest improvement in 2023, these figures remain above pre-pandemic levels. The report highlights troubling cases in Sudan and Haiti as well. In Sudan, last year recorded the highest number of people in Phase four, the Emergency category, with Jartum, Gezira, Greater Darfur, and Greater Kordofan at risk if hostilities persist and humanitarian aid remains constrained. The report emphasizes the urgency of immediate action to avert famine.
In Haiti, nearly five million people are projected to face severe hunger. Ongoing violence from armed gangs restricts movement of goods and people, driving displacement and fuelling rising food costs, which worsen malnutrition and hunger across multiple communities. This interconnected picture underscores the need for coordinated relief efforts, sustained access to aid, and measures to stabilize food markets during ongoing crises. The findings are drawn from the latest IPC framework and corroborated by humanitarian partners and international organizations, ensuring a consistent, evidence-based view of the crisis across regions.