According to the warning, which comes from the UN-affiliated expert panel Famine Review Committee (FRC) on Friday, the humanitarian situation in all of Gaza is "extremely serious and deteriorating rapidly". The situation is worst in the north.
FRC warns that the threshold for famine "may already have been exceeded, but if not, will be exceeded in the near future".
The panel's four experts are part of the UN-supported IPC (Integrated Food Security Phase Classification) which, together with several other organizations, monitors global hunger and food security.
Calling for: Action is needed now
The experts urge all parties in the Gaza conflict to take action "within days, not weeks, in order to alleviate this catastrophic situation".
The warning follows an IPC report from October 17, which stated that Palestinians in the entire area are facing an acute situation regarding food. The report also found that the entire Gaza Strip may be plunged into a famine catastrophe between November and April, a scenario that is not considered unlikely under current circumstances.
Since the publication, the situation has deteriorated further, including after Israel effectively sealed off northern Gaza last month, with significantly lower levels of humanitarian deliveries and even worse access to food.
Significantly reduced emergency aid
The US recently demanded that Israel allow at least 350 trucks with food and other supplies to enter per day. In October, an average of 57 trucks crossed the border into Gaza per day, according to figures from Cogat, the unit within Israel's Defense Ministry that handles civilian affairs in Gaza. The UN says the figure is significantly lower – only 37 daily deliveries.
Figures from the UN's food program WFP have previously shown that the number of trucks with emergency aid that reached Gaza before the outbreak of war was 500 per day.
