'World's worst hunger crises': WHO warns as 2.1 mn in Gaza face starvation

Gaza is on the verge of famine, as the ongoing blockade continues to affect the flow of humanitarian aid, including food, medicine, and essential supplies. With the entire population of 2.1 million facing hunger, and nearly half a million already in catastrophic conditions, the crisis has become the world's worst hunger crisis, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

In a statement released on Monday, the WHO said, "The risk of famine in Gaza is increasing with the deliberate withholding of humanitarian aid, including food, in the ongoing blockade. The entire 2.1 million population of Gaza is facing prolonged food shortages, with nearly half a million people in a catastrophic situation of hunger, acute malnutrition, starvation, illness and death. This is one of the world's worst hunger crises, unfolding in real time." 

The latest food security analysis was released today by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) partnership, of which WHO is a member.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus stressed that Gaza is already in the grip of a hunger crisis and said that people are starving, falling ill, and dying while lifesaving food and medicine remain just minutes away across the border.

"We do not need to wait for a declaration of famine in Gaza to know that people are already starving, sick and dying, while food and medicines are minutes away across the border. The analysis released today shows that without immediate access to food and essential supplies, the situation will continue to deteriorate, causing more deaths and descend into famine. We call for an immediate end of the aid blockade, the release of all hostages, and a ceasefire," Ghebreyesus said.

Since the aid blockade began on March 2, 57 children have reportedly died from the effects of malnutrition, according to the Ministry of Health. This number is likely an underestimate and is likely to increase. If the situation persists, nearly 71,000 children under the age of five are expected to be acutely malnourished over the next eleven months, according to the IPC report.

The WHO further said that pregnant and breastfeeding mothers are also at high risk of malnutrition, with nearly 17,000 expected to require treatment for acute malnutrition over the next eleven months, if the dire situation does not change.

"Malnourished mothers struggle to produce enough nutritious milk, putting their babies at risk, while the delivery of counselling services for mothers is heavily compromised. For infants under six months, breastmilk is their best protection against hunger and disease - especially where clean water is scarce, as it is in Gaza," WHO said.