UNRWA 1 6 million people in Gaza face severe food insecurity

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) confirmed that the situation in the Gaza Strip remains dire, with families continuing to suffer greatly due to severe food shortages and widespread destruction.

Based on its Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) report, the agency explained that approximately 1.6 million people in Gaza are facing high levels of acute food insecurity, reflecting an urgent need for immediate humanitarian intervention.

Similarly, Save the Children warned of the ongoing humanitarian catastrophe in the Gaza Strip, despite the cessation of hostilities. The organization stressed the necessity of opening the crossings to allow the entry of humanitarian aid, including mobile homes and winter clothing, with a focus on protecting children from the harsh cold.

For his part, the Director General of Pharmacy at the Ministry of Health in the Gaza Strip warned that more than 62% of the medicines needed to serve approximately a quarter of a million people who visit primary healthcare centers are unavailable. He emphasized that this severe shortage is exacerbating the health crisis and directly impacting patients’ lives. In the human rights context, the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor warned against the Israeli occupation’s use of winter as an additional tool to inflict suffering on the residents of the Gaza Strip, calling for urgent pressure to allow the immediate entry of temporary housing and shelter supplies.

These developments come at a time when international efforts are intensifying to move to the second phase of the ceasefire agreement, amidst Israeli intransigence and continued obstruction of efforts to implement the agreement’s provisions.