345,000 Gazans face 'catastrophic' hunger this winter: UN

Some 345,000 Gazans face "catastrophic" levels of hunger this winter due to falling aid deliveries, UN agencies said Thursday, warning of the persistent risk of famine across the Palestinian territory.

This is up from the 133,000 people currently categorised as experiencing "catastrophic food insecurity", according to a classification compiled by UN agencies and NGOs.

A surge in humanitarian assistance this summer brought some relief to Gazans, the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) report said. But September saw the lowest volume of commercial and humanitarian supplies entering Gaza since March.

Consequently, it projected that the number of people experiencing catastrophic food insecurity -- IPC Phase 5 -- between November 2024 and April 2025 would likely reach 345,000: 16 percent of the population.

The recent "sharp decline" in aid "will profoundly limit the ability of families to feed themselves and access essential goods and services in the coming months, unless reversed", the report said.

"Commercial supplies are down, there is large-scale displacement, infrastructure is decimated, agriculture has collapsed and people have no money," said Arif Husain, chief economist for the UN's World Food Programme.

"All this is reflected in the IPC's projection that the situation will get worse from November onwards."

- 'We must act now' -

The United States warned Israel on Tuesday that it could withhold some of its billions of dollars in military assistance unless it improved aid delivery to the Gaza Strip within 30 days.

The head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, Philippe Lazzarini, warned on Wednesday of the risk of famine in the territory.

Vast areas of the Gaza Strip have been devastated by Israel's retaliatory assault launched after the October 7 attack last year by Hamas.

"The risk of famine between November 2024 and April 2025 persists as long as conflict continues, and humanitarian access is restricted," the IPC report said.

"The extreme concentration of population in an ever-shrinking area, living in improvised shelters with intermittent access to humanitarian supplies and services, elevates the risk of epidemic outbreaks and deterioration into a catastrophe of unprecedented magnitude."

Intensified Israeli attacks and fresh evacuation orders were "already increasing the likelihood of this worst-case scenario occurring", the report added.

An estimated 60,000 cases of acute malnutrition among children aged between six months and four years old are expected between November and April.

"To curb acute hunger and malnutrition, we must act now," said Beth Bechdol, deputy director-general of the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization.

She said it was necessary to "immediately cease hostilities, restore humanitarian access to deliver critical and essential food aid and agricultural inputs in time for the upcoming winter crop planting season... to allow them to grow food".

Israel's ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon, had said Wednesday that a lack of aid was not the problem, blaming Hamas for hijacking and stealing deliveries.