A U.N.-backed food security group has issued a dire warning: famine has officially now taken hold in northern Gaza and is expected to spread in the coming months.

For nearly two years, Israeli and American officials have largely ignored pleas to end policies that limit food aid and other humanitarian supplies for millions of Palestinians.

GAZA CITY: The world’s leading authority on food crises said Friday the Gaza Strip’s largest city is gripped by famine, and that it’s likely to spread across the territory without…