The director-general of the World Health Organization (WHO) warned on Monday that the situation in Gaza would deteriorate unless “immediate” access to food is provided.
“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,” Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus wrote on X.
The statement followed the latest Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) report, which finds that the entire population of Gaza-some 2.1 million people-is at “critical risk of famine,” after 19 months of war, displacement, and aid restrictions.
From April 1 to May 10, 93% of the population, 1.95 million Gazans, was classified in IPC Phase 3 or above, meaning “crisis or worse.” This includes 244,000 people in Phase 5 (catastrophe), and 925,000 in Phase 4 (emergency).
For this May-September, the report projects that all Gazans will remain in Phase 3 or higher.
“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,” Tedros added.
He further called for an “immediate end” of the aid blockade, the release of all hostages and a ceasefire.
For some nine weeks, Israel has kept Gaza crossings closed to food, medical, and humanitarian aid, deepening an already humanitarian crisis in the enclave, according to government, human rights, and international reports.
More than 52,800 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza in a brutal Israeli onslaught since October 2023, most of them women and children.