The latest Integrated Food Security Phase Classification [IPC] report cautioned that at least 1.6 million Palestinians in Gaza, around 77 percent of the population, are still facing high levels of acute food insecurity.
The assessment warns that over 100,000 children and 37,000 pregnant and breastfeeding women are projected to suffer acute malnutrition through April next year.
“Four governorates [North Gaza, Gaza Governorate, Deir al-Balah, and Khan Younis] are currently classified in Emergency [IPC Phase 4] through April 2026,” it added.
While Gaza City was downgraded from a Famine classification, IPC Phase 4 still reflects catastrophic conditions marked by large food consumption gaps, high levels of acute malnutrition, and an elevated risk of mortality, the report noted.
UN aid agencies, including the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations [FAO], UNICEF, the World Food Program [WFP], and the World Health Organization [WHO], said on Friday that the progress remains extremely fragile as the population continues to struggle with massive infrastructure destruction and collapsed livelihoods and local food production, given restrictions on humanitarian operations.
The WHO has previously estimated that more than 16,500 patients still need treatment outside of Gaza.
“Without sustained, large-scale expansion of food, livelihood, agriculture and health assistance, together with increased commercial inflows, hundreds of thousands of people could rapidly slip back into famine,” the aid agencies warned.
The Gaza Health Ministry says that since “Israel’s” genocidal assault began on October 7, 2023, at least 440 people, including more than 150 children, have died from hunger.
