A joint statement by UN agencies and humanitarian organizations says that a state of catastrophic famine has been declared in the Gaza Strip for the first time, RIA Novosti reports.
“More than half a million people in the Gaza Strip are trapped in a famine characterized by widespread malnutrition, poverty, and preventable deaths,” according to a statement released by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).
The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) adopted by the UN distinguishes between five stages of food insecurity, with levels three to five corresponding to acute food shortages. The last, fifth stage means catastrophic famine.
Earlier, Tom Fletcher, the UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, accused Israel of causing famine in the Gaza Strip.
