UN-backed body to release update on famine in Gazapublished at 08:24 British Summer Time
Rorey Bosotti
Live page editor
Image source, ReutersThe Integrated Food Security Phase Classifications (IPC)
will release an update later this morning on famine in the Gaza Strip.
The UN-backed body responsible for monitoring food security, which does not itself officially declare famine, said
last month that the “worst-case scenario of famine” was “playing out in
Gaza”.
The Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry says 271 people
have died of “famine and malnutrition” since on 7 October 2023 – including 112 children.
Humanitarian agencies have called on Israel to
facilitate the access of more aid into the Strip, warning food and water
shortages could develop into a famine.
Israel denies there’s starvation in Gaza, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu saying earlier this
month that Israel’s “policy throughout the war has been to prevent a
humanitarian crisis while Hamas’s policy has been to create it”.
The new report comes less than 24 hours after Netanyahu said he’s approved plans for a massive assault on Gaza City, despite widespread international and domestic opposition.
We’ll bring you all the key lines from the report once it’s
released.