IPC says Gaza no longer experiencing famine, warns situation ‘highly fragile’
The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), a global hunger monitor, has said there is no longer famine in Gaza after access for humanitarian and commercial food deliveries improved following the start of the fragile ceasefire in October.
The IPC, however, warned that the situation in Gaza remains critical.
“Under a worst-case scenario, which would include renewed hostilities and a halt in humanitarian and commercial inflows, the entire Gaza Strip [would be] at risk of famine through mid-April 2026. This underscores the severe and ongoing humanitarian crisis,” the monitor said in a report.
It added that more than 100,000 people in Gaza were experiencing catastrophic conditions, but projected that figure to decline to about 1,900 people by April 2026. It said the entire Gaza Strip was classified in an emergency phase, one step below catastrophic conditions.
“The situation remains highly fragile and is contingent on sustained, expanded and consistent humanitarian and commercial access,” the IPC said.
The latest assessment by the monitor comes four months after it reported that 514,000 people – nearly a quarter of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip – were experiencing famine.
Israel controls all access to the besieged enclave, with international aid organisations stating that Israel has allowed far fewer than 600 trucks a day, in violation of the ceasefire.
Keeping the population on the brink of famine according to plan...
No famine does not mean no misery in Gaza
Gaza is no longer in famine conditions – but that does not mean the crisis is over.
One of the UN aid distribution centres here has shut down and been turned into a mass displacement camp for Gaza’s residents. People are living in unbearable conditions and the UN is still warning that the limited food rations and the ongoing aid restrictions could quickly reverse all recent gains.
So what we can see on the ground is a continuation of the humanitarian miseries families are living in. The displaced people living in makeshift tents are depending on very small food rations.
More commercial goods are coming in rather than aid supplies. UN agencies are still battling to scale up humanitarian deliveries and believe that without them, the situation in Gaza will worsen within the coming week – specifically for the displaced families who are suffering under the current weather conditions.
People gather during a search and rescue operation at the site of a house that was partially destroyed during the war and collapsed on Tuesday, at Shati refugee camp in Gaza City
In Gaza, 1.6 million people still face ‘acute food insecurity’: UNWRA
Despite no famine conditions, Gaza remains in a “hunger crisis”, says Philippe Lazzarini, the commissioner-general of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, or UNRWA.
In a social media post, he said the latest report from IPC “underscores how fragile the gains have been since the ceasefire began in October”.
He added that while the Gaza governorate “is no longer classified as being in famine, 1.6 million people still face high levels of acute food insecurity” and urged for more aid to be let in.
#Gaza remains in a man-made hunger crisis.
The latest report from @theIPCinfo underscores how fragile the gains have been since the ceasefire began in October. While #Gaza Governorate is no longer classified as being in famine, 1.6 million people still face high levels of acute…
— Philippe Lazzarini (@UNLazzarini) December 19, 2025
