Famine is occurring in the northern Gaza Strip and is projected to spread to central and southern areas by the end of September, a global hunger monitor has warned.
The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) initiative said on Friday that famine was occurring in the Gaza governorate, a region where hundreds of thousands of Palestinians live in northern Gaza, and that it was likely to reach the central region of Deir el-Balah and Khan Younis in southern Gaza by the end of next month.
After 22 months of conflict, more than half a million people are facing famine (IPC Phase 5), a catastrophic situation characterised by starvation, acute malnutrition, and mortality, it said. Another 1.07 million people – 54 percent of the population – are facing emergency (IPC Phase 4), and 39