GAZA STRIP – A full-blown humanitarian catastrophe is unfolding in Gaza, where famine is no longer a looming threat—it’s becoming a deadly reality. With two of the three UN-declared famine thresholds already breached, the crisis is accelerating beyond control.
According to the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), nearly 39% of Gaza’s population is enduring extreme food deprivation. Entire families are going days without meals, and for many, even the most basic food items are out of reach. Vegetables, meat, and cooking gas have become luxuries, forcing residents to survive on one meal of eggplant stew a day—if they’re lucky.
The crisis is hitting children hardest. Between April and mid-July, over 3,000 children were treated for acute malnutrition, while at least 16 have died due to hunger-related conditions in Gaza City alone.
UNICEF and other aid agencies warn that without unrestricted humanitarian access, the situation will only worsen. Critical therapeutic food like Plumpy’Nut, essential for treating severely malnourished children, is in short supply.
The IPC, along with UN agencies, is now sounding the alarm: if aid doesn’t flow immediately and consistently, Gaza may enter a full-scale famine, one that is entirely preventable yet dangerously close.
This story has been reported by PakTribune. All rights reserved.