United Nations agencies have cautiously welcomed new findings showing that famine has been pushed back across the Gaza Strip, but warned that the progress remains extremely fragile and could rapidly reverse without sustained humanitarian access, funding, and support.
According to the latest Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) analysis, no areas of Gaza are currently classified as being in famine following the October ceasefire and improved humanitarian and commercial access. However, the underlying drivers of the crisis—widespread destruction, collapsed livelihoods, food insecurity, and disease—remain largely unresolved.
Despite the improved classification, the IPC report reveals that 1.6 million people—77 percent of Gaza’s population—are still facing high levels of acute food insecurity.
More than 100,000 children and 37,000 pregnant and breastfeeding women are projected to suffer from acute malnutrition through April next year. Four governorates—North Gaza, Gaza Governorate, Deir al-Balah, and Khan Younis—remain classified under Emergency (IPC Phase 4), a level marked by severe food consumption gaps, elevated malnutrition, and increased mortality risk.
While Gaza Governorate has been downgraded from famine status, UN agencies stress that Emergency conditions still represent a life-threatening crisis.
Since the ceasefire, more than 730,000 people have been displaced, many living in overcrowded and makeshift shelters and relying almost entirely on humanitarian aid.
Access to clean water, sanitation, healthcare, and hygiene services remains severely limited. The widespread destruction of cropland, livestock, fisheries, roads, and markets continues to undermine food production and livelihoods, complicating both relief efforts and recovery.
Poor living conditions—combined with damaged sewage systems, unreliable water supplies, and families burning wood or trash for warmth—are fuelling outbreaks of respiratory infections, diarrhoea, and skin diseases, particularly among children.
Although markets are now better stocked following improved humanitarian and commercial inflows, most vulnerable families cannot afford nutritious food. Protein-rich foods remain scarce and prohibitively expensive.
Nearly 79 percent of households are unable to buy food or access clean water. No children are achieving minimum dietary diversity, while two-thirds suffer from severe food poverty, consuming only one or two food groups.
Only around half of Gaza’s health facilities are partially functional, many damaged during the conflict. Even those operating face acute shortages of essential medicines, equipment, and supplies, many of which are subject to complex approval procedures and import restrictions.
Malnutrition remains widespread, particularly among children and women. WHO is currently supporting seven severe acute malnutrition stabilization centres across Gaza, but agencies warn that far greater scale-up is urgently needed.
FAO, UNICEF, WFP and WHO stressed that the gains achieved since the ceasefire can only be preserved through decisive international action.
They urged all parties to:
Ensure sustained, safe, and unimpeded humanitarian and commercial access across Gaza
Lift restrictions on essential imports, including food, agricultural inputs, nutrition and medical supplies
Rapidly scale up funding for food, health, nutrition, water, sanitation, agriculture and livelihood recovery
Support the revival of local food production and value chains
UN officials warned that without access, supplies and funding at scale, hundreds of thousands of people could slide back into famine within months.
“The ceasefire has created a narrow window for recovery,” the agencies said, “but without sustained support, these fragile gains could unravel quickly.”
Only a coordinated effort to move beyond emergency survival toward recovery, resilience, and restored livelihoods can prevent famine from returning and give Gaza’s population a chance to rebuild.