UN-backed experts say food supplies in Gaza improving but 100,000 people still in ‘catastrophic conditions’
UN-backed experts say there have been improvements in nutrition and food supplies in Gaza since the ceasefire, but 100,000 people still experienced “catastrophic conditions” last month.
In August, the Integrated Food Security Classification (IPC), which monitors and classifies global food crises, said half a million people – around a quarter of Gaza’s population – were living in areas suffering from famine.
The UN and other humanitarian agencies have been able to increase the arrival of food into Gaza since the October ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
Israel’s Foreign Ministry said the IPC report was “deliberately distorted” and “does not reflect the reality in the Gaza Strip.”
The latest IPC analysis suggests that a month ago, half a million Gaza residents were still facing emergency conditions and more than 100,000 of them were still in the highest level of food insecurity – IPC Phase 5 – experiencing “catastrophic conditions”.
He predicts that this number will continue to decrease, but emphasizes that the situation remains “very fragile”.
IPC Phase 5 corresponds to the most extreme level of food insecurity, described as “famine” for an area or “disaster” for households. The report states that no areas of Gaza are now classified as “starving.”
Israel rejected the IPC’s initial famine findings and continued to criticize its methodology.
Cogat, the Israeli military body that controls Gaza crossings, said the number of trucks carrying food aid entering each week exceeded what the U.N. had determined it needed.
“The report relies on serious gaps in data collection and on sources that do not reflect the entirety of humanitarian assistance,” the organization said in a statement.
In response to Cogat’s criticism, the IPC said publicly available data from UN and Cogat sources had been used for the analysis.
The IPC said acute malnutrition is reaching critical levels in Gaza City and is severe in Deir al-Balah and Khan Younis.
In the coming months, the situation is expected to remain serious, but the number of people facing the most serious conditions is expected to fall to 1,900 by April, the report said.
But he adds that if hostilities resume, the entire Gaza Strip risks falling into famine.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said earlier this month that the second phase of the US-brokered peace plan – which would see Israel withdraw more of its troops from Gaza and disarm Hamas – was near, but that key issues still needed to be resolved.
The IPC said the main drivers of food insecurity included restricted humanitarian access, the displacement of more than 730,000 people and the destruction of livelihoods – including more than 96% of cultivated land in Gaza being destroyed or inaccessible.
Israel imposed a total blockade on aid deliveries to Gaza in early March this year, which was eased in May, saying it wanted to pressure the armed group Hamas to release hostages remaining in Gaza at the time.
Prior to this IPC report, Cogat said the body had not engaged with the United States or Israel and their methodology, “reinforcing a false narrative, fueled in part by claims coming from Hamas.”
He also denied that Israel was preventing winter supplies and medical supplies from entering the territory and that there was a shortage of drinking water.
Unwra, the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees, said that although the report indicates that Gaza is no longer in famine, the situation remains “critical.”
“The overall living conditions in the Gaza Strip remain catastrophic, worsened by winter conditions,” he said in a statement, adding that “sustained, expanded and consistent humanitarian and commercial access” was needed.
