Bart Witteveen, the International Rescue Committee's (IRC) Country Director for the occupied Palestinian territory, said:

“The situation in Northern Gaza is now beyond crisis point. The Famine Review Committee (FRC) is warning that famine is likely imminent, if not already underway, in parts of northern Gaza. This marks a sharp and alarming deterioration since last month’s IPC report that projected a tripling in the number of people facing catastrophic food insecurity in the coming months. The escalating crisis is primarily driven by the obstruction of humanitarian aid. 

“Over 80% of humanitarian aid into Gaza is currently blocked, with deliveries now at their lowest levels since  October 2023. Before October 2023, an average of 500 humanitarian aid trucks entered Gaza each day. This level was already insufficient to meet the needs of the population.  Now the levels have reached dangerous lows. Last month, only 37 humanitarian trucks entered Gaza daily, increasing to just 69 per day in the first week of November. Israeli authorities have allowed only one of these trucks to enter northern Gaza over the past month, effectively severing tens of thousands of  Palestinians from vital humanitarian lifelines in what amounts to a siege. The worst-case scenario may already be underway: across Gaza, starvation, malnutrition, and excess mortality due to malnutrition and disease are rapidly increasing.