• by Oritro Karim (united nations)
• Tuesday, December 23, 2025
• Inter Press Service

UNITED NATIONS, December 23 (IPS) - Despite notable improvements in the humanitarian conditions in the Gaza Strip following the October 10 ceasefire, progress remains critically fragile. With the enclave having averted famine across multiple regions, the United Nations (UN) and its partners warn that sustained humanitarian access, a steady flow of resources, and the restoration of critical civilian infrastructure are essential in preventing further deterioration, which could have long-lasting consequences for an already deeply traumatized population.

According to the latest figures from the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), food security in Gaza saw significant improvement during the October-November period, with famine eradicated across all areas. This marks a major shift from August, when famine was recorded and confirmed. This is largely attributed to the expansion of humanitarian access since then.

“Famine has been pushed back. Far more people are able to access the food they need to survive,” said UN Secretary-General António Guterres. “Gains are fragile, perilously so. And in more than half of Gaza, where Israeli troops remain deployed, farmland and entire neighborhoods are out of reach. Strikes and hostilities continue, pushing the civilian toll of this war even higher and exposing our teams to grave danger. We need more crossings, the lifting of restrictions on critical items, the removal of red tape, safe routes inside Gaza, sustained funding, and unimpeded access, including for nonprofit organizations (NGOs).”

Figures from the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) show that following the ceasefire, obstructions to aid deliveries have declined to roughly 20 percent—down from 30 to 35 percent prior to the ceasefire. Between October 10 and December 16, more than 119,000 metric tons of UN-coordinated aid were offloaded, with over 111,000 metric tons successfully collected.

Despite this, severe levels of hunger and malnutrition persist, particularly among displaced communities. The vast majority of the enclave’s population faces emergency levels (IPC Phase 4) of hunger, with hundreds of thousands facing acute malnutrition. Between October and November, approximately 1.6 million people, or over 75 percent of the population studied, were found to face crisis levels of hunger (Phase 3) or worse, including 500,000 people in emergency levels (Phase 4) and over 100,000 in catastrophic levels (Phase 5).

Women and children —especially those from displaced communities— are expected to bear the heaviest burdens. An estimated 101,000 children aged six to 59 months are projected to suffer from acute malnutrition through October of next year, with 31,000 of those cases expected to be life-threatening. In addition, roughly 37,000 pregnant and breastfeeding women are projected to require urgent treatment.

In a joint statement, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the World Health Organization (WHO), and the World Food Programme (WFP), warn that without sustained humanitarian support, increased financial assistance, and a definitive end to the hostilities, hundreds of thousands of Gazans could quickly fall back into famine conditions.

OCHA noted that approximately 1.6 million Gazans are projected to face high levels of acute food insecurity through mid-April of 2026, with the agency recording aid deliveries being hampered as a result of continued airstrikes, procedural constraints, and the lingering effects of Storm Byron, which caused considerable levels of flooding. In December, the agency recorded reduced food rations from WFP in an attempt to maximize coverage. Other sectors of the humanitarian response have been deprioritized to address the most urgent food security needs.

IPC’s latest report identifies the collapse of agri-food systems as a major driver of food insecurity in Gaza, noting that over 96 percent of the enclave’s cropland has been decimated or rendered inaccessible. With livelihoods shattered and local production severely strained, families are increasingly unable to afford nutritious and diverse foods.

Approximately 70 percent of households cannot afford to buy food or secure clean water. Protein has become particularly scarce, and no children are meeting adequate dietary diversity standards, with two-thirds consuming only one to two food groups.

“Gaza’s farmers, herders and fishers are ready to restart food production, but they cannot do so without immediate access to basic supplies and funding,” said Rein Paulsen, Director of FAO’s Office of Emergencies and Resilience. “The ceasefire has opened a narrow window to allow life-sustaining agricultural supplies to reach the hands of vulnerable farmers. Only funding and expanded and sustained access will allow local food production to resume and reduce dependence on external aid.”

The latest figures from OCHA indicate that at least 2,407 children received treatment for acute malnutrition in the first two weeks of December. Additionally, as of December 16, more than 172,000 metric tons of aid positioned by 56 humanitarian partners are ready for transfer into Gaza, with food supplies accounting for 72 percent of the total.

Even in the face of these consistent needs, some humanitarian deliveries carried out by the UN and its partners continue to be routinely denied by Israeli authorities. Between December 10 and 16, humanitarian agencies coordinated 47 missions with Israeli authorities, 30 of which were conducted, 10 were impeded, four were denied, and three were cancelled.

According to Kate Newton, Deputy Country Director for WFP in Palestine, missions requiring prior coordination with Israeli authorities—including winterization efforts, assessment and clearance missions, and cargo uplifts—are particularly uncertain. “We still have all the issues that we’ve been talking about for months and months – the logistical challenges, the fact we’re very limited in terms of the number of roads we can use, that we still have a very high level of insecurity, that bureaucratic processes are still impeding humanitarian delivery,” said Newton.

On December 17, a coalition of UN agencies and more than 200 international and local NGOs called for urgent measures pressuring Israeli authorities to lift all impediments to humanitarian aid, warning that current restrictions severely undermine relief efforts and threaten the collapse of an effective humanitarian response. The joint statement underscores that humanitarian action is now more critical than ever and stresses that Gaza cannot afford to slip back into pre-ceasefire conditions.

“UN agencies and NGOs reiterate that humanitarian access is not optional, conditional or political. It is a legal obligation under international humanitarian law, particularly in Gaza where Israel has failed to ensure that the population is adequately supplied,” the statement reads. “Israeli authorities must allow and facilitate rapid, unimpeded passage of humanitarian relief. They must immediately reverse policies that obstruct humanitarian operations and ensure that humanitarian organizations are able to operate without compromising humanitarian principles. Lifesaving assistance must be allowed to reach Palestinians without further delay.”

IPS UN Bureau

© Inter Press Service (20251223202632) — All Rights Reserved. Original source: Inter Press Service

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