UN chief: 4 out of 5 hungriest people globally are in Gaza

“Four out of five of the hungriest people anywhere in the world are in Gaza. As the conflict intensifies and the horror grows, we will continue to do our part,” the UN secretary-general wrote on X.

“We will not give up,” he added.

The World Food Programme has announced half of Gaza’s population is starving and residents are often going entire days without eating.

A UN-backed report by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) also found that the entire population of Gaza is facing a food crisis, with 576,600 people at catastrophic – or starvation – levels.

Between November 24 and December 7, 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 the IPC report found.

“We have been warning for weeks that, with such deprivation and destruction, each day that goes by will only bring more hunger, disease and despair to the people of Gaza,” Martin Griffiths wrote on X, adding, “The war must end.”

The report adds that there is a risk of famine in Gaza if the “current situation” continues.

“The only way to eliminate any risk of Famine is to stop the deterioration of health, nutrition, food security and mortality through the restoration of health and WASH [water, sanitation and hygiene] services, and the provision of safe, nutritious food to the whole population,” the report said.

“The cessation of hostilities and the restoration of humanitarian space to deliver this multi-sectoral assistance and restore services are essential first steps in eliminating any risk of Famine,” the report added.

According to a study by the rights group Euro-Med Monitor, seventy-one percent of the population in the besieged Gaza Strip faces extreme hunger as they continue to endure relentless Israeli bombardment,

According to the study’s findings, which included a sample of 1,200 people in Gaza, 98% of the respondents said they eat insufficient amounts of food, while 64% admitted to eating grass, fruits, immature food and expired materials to satiate their hunger.

The study also found that the rate of access to water in Gaza, including drinking, bathing and cleaning water, is down to 1.5 liters per person per day.

“This is 15 liters less than the minimum amount of water required for survival at the level required by international standards,” it stressed, adding that 66% of the respondents reported having experienced diarrhea, skin rashes or intestinal diseases in the past month.

Gaza’s Health Ministry reported the death toll since the start of the attacks rose to 20,258 on Saturday, most of them being women and children.

According to UN estimates, the war has displaced 1.9 million of Gaza’s 2.3 million population.