Gaza: IPC analysis finds famine conditions offset but situation remains critical – OCHA

19 December 2025

The latest findings by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) indicate that following the ceasefire in October, there have been notable improvements in food security and nutrition in the Gaza Strip – yet the situation remains critical. In August, the IPC Famine Review Committee had confirmed famine in Gaza governorate.

The IPC analysis issued today notes that although famine conditions have since been offset, about 1.6 million people are still expected to face high levels of acute food insecurity through mid-April next year. This includes about 1,900 people in Gaza who would face catastrophic hunger, IPC Phase 5, the highest level – and more than 570,000 people who would face emergency levels, IPC Phase 4.

The report projects that through mid-October of next year, more than 100,000 children under 5 – as well as 37,000 pregnant and breastfeeding women – will need treatment for acute malnutrition.

The IPC said that no child meets the minimum dietary diversity standard, and two thirds of children are suffering from severe food poverty. The onset of winter and related diseases – combined with poor sanitation and hygiene conditions and limited access to safe and diverse foods – only increase vulnerability to malnutrition.

Once again, the UN and its humanitarian partners call for safe, sustained and unhindered access for humanitarian and commercial goods so that life-saving assistance and critical supplies can reach all people in need and essential services can stay up and running.

Meanwhile, the UN Development Programme said today that since the onset of the ceasefire, it has collected the equivalent of 8,000 truckloads of debris – mostly raw concrete. The debris is removed, crushed and re-used, including to pave roads and build barriers to manage rainwater.

West Bank: humanitarian situation worsens amid settler violence, ongoing operations by Israeli forces

OCHA warns that the humanitarian situation in the West Bank is worsening amid ongoing operations by Israeli forces and settler violence against Palestinians.

In a social media post this week, the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) said that the West Bank has been witnessing a dangerous escalation and deterioration, including an unprecedented rise in violence by settlers, with such attacks leading to casualties, harassment, assault, raids and damage to structures. Just this week, on Tuesday, an Israeli settler fired live ammunition towards a group of people in Bethlehem, resulting in the killing of a 16-year-old boy.

Since the beginning of the year, OCHA has documented more than 1,700 attacks by settlers, mostly in Ramallah, Nablus and Hebron governorates, resulting in casualties and or property damage. Similarly, at least 1,600 people were displaced in 2025 due to settler violence and access restrictions.

Israel, as the occupying power, has a legal obligation to protect Palestinians and maintain public order and safety in the West Bank, in accordance with international humanitarian and human rights law.