The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), UNICEF, the World Food Programme (WFP), and the World Health Organization (WHO) have highlighted that, while famine has been temporarily averted in the Gaza Strip following the October ceasefire, the gains remain extremely fragile. Despite improved humanitarian and commercial access, the population continues to face widespread infrastructure destruction, collapsed livelihoods, and severely limited local food production. The agencies warn that without sustained, large-scale support for food, livelihoods, agriculture, and health, along with increased commercial inflows, hundreds of thousands could rapidly slip back into famine.
According to the latest Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) report, at least 1.6 million people, or 77 percent of Gaza’s population, remain acutely food insecure, including over 100,000 children and 37,000 pregnant and breastfeeding women projected to suffer acute malnutrition through April 2026. Four governorates—North Gaza, Gaza Governorate, Deir al-Balah, and Khan Younis—are classified in Emergency (IPC Phase 4), with Gaza Governorate downgraded from famine. This phase reflects severe food insecurity, high malnutrition levels, and elevated mortality risk.
Although the ceasefire has improved the flow of food, animal feed, essential supplies, and commercial imports, most households continue to face severe shortages. Over 730,000 people have been displaced since the ceasefire, many living in makeshift shelters heavily reliant on humanitarian aid. Limited access to water, sanitation, health care, and the destruction of cropland, livestock, fishing activities, roads, and other infrastructure continue to challenge both people and aid operations.
Children under five and pregnant or breastfeeding women remain among the most vulnerable. While markets are better stocked with nutritious food, many families cannot afford it. Nutrition-rich foods, particularly proteins, are scarce and expensive, leaving 79 percent of households without sufficient food or clean water. No children are meeting minimum dietary diversity, and two-thirds experience severe food poverty, consuming only one to two food groups.
Overcrowded shelters, damaged sewage systems, unreliable water supplies, and the use of wood or trash for heating are worsening conditions and contributing to outbreaks of respiratory infections, diarrhea, and skin diseases, especially among children. The agencies stand ready to scale up responses, but import restrictions, access constraints, and major funding gaps severely limit their capacity to operate at the necessary scale, particularly for food security, nutrition, health, water, sanitation, agriculture, and livelihood recovery interventions.
FAO’s Rein Paulsen emphasized that Gaza’s farmers, herders, and fishers are ready to resume food production but cannot do so without immediate access to supplies and funding. UNICEF’s Lucia Elmi warned that while children are no longer facing famine, they remain in grave danger due to the lasting impacts of conflict, insufficient food, limited healthcare, and harsh winter conditions in makeshift shelters. WFP’s Ross Smith stressed the need to build on the recent gains to ensure reliable access to essential services and help families move from aid dependency toward self-sufficiency. WHO’s Altaf Musani noted that only half of Gaza’s health facilities are partially functional, many lacking essential supplies and equipment, while malnutrition remains high, especially among children and women.
The agencies called on all parties to guarantee sustained, safe, and unimpeded humanitarian and commercial access, lift restrictions on essential imports, rapidly scale up funding for food, nutrition, health, water, sanitation, and agriculture, and reactivate local food production and value chains. They warned that without decisive action, the fragile gains since the ceasefire could quickly unravel, and only timely access, supplies, and funding at scale can prevent a return to famine and enable recovery in Gaza.
