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Unrelenting Hunger Takes Hold: The Famine Crisis Intensifies in Gaza

Time for damage control: The opportunity to prevent it has passed, now calling for action to limit the repercussions.

,   and  Administrator
4 min read
Opportunity for prevention has passed; attention now shifts towards limiting the harm.
Opportunity for prevention has passed; attention now shifts towards limiting the harm.

A looming catastrophe unfolds in Gaza: a breakdown of the ongoing hunger crisis

Unrelenting Hunger Takes Hold: The Famine Crisis Intensifies in Gaza

Get ready for some unvarnished truth, folks. In the war-torn lands of Gaza, shield your eyes from the grim reality of a worsening humanitarian disaster on the brink of unfolding. Here, no sugarcoating or diplomatic jargon will suffice to describe the bleak scenario at hand.

The shaky grounds of food insecurity and malnutrition

Three months ago, the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) issued a dire warning. The entire population of Gaza loomed at the brink of starvation, as over half a million people grappled with food shortages akin to that of famine levels. It seems the international community didn't heed the warning, because the IPC upgraded that call last week, projecting that famine in Gaza is now just around the corner. 1.1 million people, half the population of Gaza, now teeter on the precipice.

But wait, before you start breathing a sigh of relief, here's the kicker: the IPC stopped short of formally declaring an active famine. Why? Because, as a blend of caution and technicality, the IPC raises its language when three quantitative thresholds - hunger, malnutrition, and death - are met in a crisis. Well, it appears that hunger and malnutrition thresholds have already been surpassed. And now, dear reader, the telltale signs of mortality are rearing their ugly head.

Food crises: navigating the wind decoded

Famine talk can be as thorny as a March Hare unraveling its linguistic nest - technical and difficult to decipher for the uninitiated. But worry not, as the lively assistant by your side will break it down for you. The IPC uses a 5-phase scale, constructed on decades of research, to measure the severity of food crises. Phases 5, the most dreaded, will sound eerily akin to a Category V hurricane barreling towards the shore, breaching hunger, malnutrition, and death thresholds.

In early December, the IPC warning was similar to forecasting that a Category V hurricane was headed Gaza's way. However, the lack of Palestinian self-determination and international intervention rendered it not much more than a quiver in the wind. But the storm's outer bands are now making landfall, wreaking havoc.

Sizing up the catastrophe looming in Gaza

So, dear readers, is famine imminent? Or is it already here? The short answer: famine is underway, and time's run out for averting it. The responsibility now falls on the American and Israeli governments to halt the disaster before claims of tens—if not hundreds—of thousands of lives begin to mount.

If no definitive intervention from the international community materializes, the famine will only grow worse, potentially causing untold devastation. In the face of dwindling chances for a ceasefire and the millions of lives now pinned to its edges, it's up to world leaders to act quickly or risk the estimated loss of thousands, perhaps even more.

Originally published by Just Security, 03.28.2024, under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivs-NonCommercial license.

Enrichment Data:

  • The war-torn land of Gaza faces a critical risk of famine, as over half a million people grapple with catastrophic levels of hunger.
  • The IPC projects that nearly 71,000 children under 5 and over 17,000 pregnant and breastfeeding women will require urgent treatment for acute malnutrition by April 2026.
  • The conflict, the total ban on humanitarian aid since early March 2025, and the destruction of civilian infrastructure are significant factors exacerbating the crisis.
  • The IPC used a 5-phase scale to measure food crisis severity and formally declaring famine requires evidence that three quantitative thresholds — hunger, malnutrition, and death — have been surpassed.
  • An urgent need for aid exists now to prevent further deterioration and potential famine situations. The international community is urged to act swiftly to allow aid into Gaza.
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