Aug 21, 10:47 PM

UN-Backed Monitor Declares First-Ever Famine in Gaza City

The United Nations-backed Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) is poised to declare a famine in Gaza City and adjacent areas, according to multiple briefings ahead of a report scheduled for release at 11 a.m. Geneva time on Friday. The looming designation would mark the first time the IPC has classified a location in the Middle East as being in famine and only the fifth such determination worldwide since the system was introduced in 2004. More than 500,000 people in the Gaza Strip are already assessed to be facing catastrophic levels of hunger. Analysts familiar with the forthcoming report say the crisis could spread south to the governorates of Deir al-Balah and Khan Younis by the end of September unless conditions improve.