Hostilities, including bombardment, ground operations and besiegement of the entire population have caused catastrophic levels of acute food insecurity across the Gaza Strip. Around 85 percent of the population (1.9 million people) is displaced, with many people having relocated multiple times, and currently concentrated into an increasingly smaller geographic area. 

There is a risk of Famine and it is increasing each day that the current situation of intense hostilities and restricted humanitarian access persists or worsens. The intensification of the hostilities, further reduction in access to food, basic services, and lifesaving assistance, and the extreme concentration or isolation of people in inadequate shelters or areas without basic services are major factors that contribute to increasing this risk.

Between 24 November and 7 December 2023, over 90 percent of the population in the Gaza Strip (about 2.08 million people) was estimated to face high levels of acute food insecurity, classified in IPC Phase 3 or above (Crisis or worse). Among these, over 40 percent of the population (939,000 people) were in Emergency (IPC Phase 4) and over 15 percent (378,000 people) were in Catastrophe (IPC Phase 5).

In the projected period, between 8 December 2023 and 7 February 2024, the entire population in the Gaza Strip (about 2.2 million people) is classified in IPC Phase 3 or above (Crisis or worse). This is the highest share of people facing high levels of acute food insecurity that the IPC initiative has ever classified for any given area or country.

Among these, about 50 percent of the population (1.17 million people) are in Emergency (IPC Phase 4) and at least one in four households (more than half a million people) is facing catastrophic conditions - IPC Phase 5 (Catastrophe). These are characterized by households experiencing an extreme lack of food, starvation and exhaustion of coping capacities.

Even though the levels of acute malnutrition and non-trauma related mortality might not have yet crossed famine thresholds, these are typically the outcomes of prolonged and extreme food consumption gaps. The increased nutritional vulnerability of children, pregnant and breastfeeding women and the elderly is a particular source of concern.

Hostilities are the main driver of the extremely high levels of acute food insecurity in the Gaza Strip, and entail widespread, intense, and sustained bombardment from the air, land and sea, ongoing ground operations and clashes, and the besiegement of the population. Over 19,000 fatalities and 52,000 injuries have been reported. Hostilities have resulted in the displacement of nearly 2 million people, the damage or destruction of at least one third of all buildings, collapsing basic services including healthcare, unavailability of drinking water, along with economic collapse and the loss of agricultural, livestock, and fishing production. Ongoing restrictions on commercial traffic is exacerbating the dire situation caused by hostilities and significantly contribute to food shortages, even in the absence of active hostilities.

The IPC Famine Review Committee (FRC) was activated to review the classifications performed by the IPC Analysis Team, after acknowledging the presence of evidence above IPC Acute Food Insecurity Phase 5 threshold.  The role of the FRC is to assess the plausibility of IPC analyses for classifications in IPC Phase 5 (Catastrophe/Famine). 

Restore safe and sustained humanitarian access: Restore safe and sustained humanitarian access throughout the Gaza Strip to enable the rapid delivery of life-saving multi-sector humanitarian assistance to all people in need. This also entails ensuring complete, safe, and sustained freedom of movement for people throughout Gaza. Border crossings should be reopened, including for commercial traffic. Essential commodities, including but not limited to fuel, food, water, medical supplies, and shelter materials, should be allowed to move into and throughout Gaza without interruption or limitation.

Provide immediate multi-sectoral humanitarian assistance to the entire population in the Gaza Strip, including isolated populations. Regular and sustained food assistance should be provided to reduce food consumption gaps, save lives and prevent widespread deaths. This should be combined with other types of life-saving assistance, including nutrition, health, WASH, shelter and other non-food items. Meeting the needs of the most vulnerable, particularly infants and young children under five, should be a priority. 

Restore Basic Services: Rapidly restore the functionality of basic services in Gaza to save lives. This includes the immediate restoration of cross-border water pipelines and resumption of electricity distribution. Health facilities and outreach, water infrastructure including desalination and water treatment plants, wells, and distribution networks, facilities for waste management, food processing and production including mills and bakeries, financial facilities including banks and ATMs, telecommunications, and other essential services and infrastructure should be restored to the highest levels of functionality and within the shortest timeframe possible.