UN: Nearly half of Gaza population at a risk of famine

“To prevent famine, more, much more food [and] other basics must be allowed in safe access,” the agency posted on X.

Thomas White, the director of UNRWA affairs in Gaza, also said on X “people are hungry and just desperate for food”, adding: “40% of the population at risk of famine.”

“More regular supplies needed. We require safe and sustainable humanitarian access everywhere, including to the North of Gaza,” he stressed.

Since a cross-border attack by Hamas on Oct. 7, Israel has continued relentless attacks on the Gaza Strip, killing more than 21,000 Palestinians and injuring many more, according to local health authorities.

Israeli authorities claim the Hamas attack has killed around 1,200 Israelis.

The Israeli onslaught has left Gaza in ruins, with 60% of the enclave’s infrastructure damaged or destroyed, and nearly 2 million residents displaced amid acute shortages of food, clean water and medicine.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has recently sounded the alarm on the dire humanitarian crisis in the besieged Gaza Strip, lamenting that four out of “five of the hungriest people anywhere in the world are” in the coastal territory.

The head of the World Health Organization (WHO) has recently cautioned residents in Gaza City are facing starvation and selling their possessions for food.

“Hunger is present, and famine is looming in Gaza,” Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus wrote on X last Saturday.