Gaza City and surrounding areas are officially suffering from famine, and it will likely spread across the enclave, a United Nations-backed global hunger monitor has said.

On Friday, the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) system said 514,000 people, close to a quarter of Palestinians in Gaza, are experiencing famine, with the number due to rise to 641,000 by the end of September.

This comes after 22 months of war, during which Israeli forces have destroyed infrastructure and bakeries, blocked the entry of aid into the besieged Strip, and targeted and killed desperate Palestinians seeking food.

This is the first time the IPC has recorded famine outside of Africa, and the global group has predicted that famine conditions would spread to the central and southern areas

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