Palestinian youths stand next to bags after collecting reusable items at a landfill in Deir al-Balah, in the central Gaza Strip, Thursday (local time). AP-Yonhap
The world’s leading authority on food insecurity said Thursday that the situation in Gaza had improved since famine was declared in parts of the Palestinian territory last year, but warned that conditions remained at crisis levels and could slip back into catastrophe.
The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, or IPC, said a reduction in fighting and the fact that Israel was allowing more aid into Gaza had a “significant impact, albeit unevenly across areas.” But it noted that most families living in the war-battered enclave still weren't getting nearly enough to eat.
“Even small disruptions to humanitarian access could rapidly reverse recent gains,” the report warned.
The designation underscored how conditions in Gaza have both markedly improved since last year and remain at crisis levels without immediate prospects for recovery. More than 1,185 people have been killed by Israeli strikes and shelling since last October’s agreement, according to the territory's health ministry.
