Gaza Humanitarian Crisis: WFP Briefing and Latest IPC Famine Assessment

• The video features Antoine Renard, World Food Programme (WFP) Palestine Representative, speaking remotely from Gaza City during a UN press briefing, highlighting improvements in food access two months into the ceasefire while emphasizing the dire living conditions; the humanitarian situation remains far from stable.

• Food assistance has expanded, with WFP reaching over 1 million people, providing nutrition services to more than 300,000, and delivering fortified snacks to 190,000 children in temporary learning spaces; commercial and aid food flows have increased, and average daily meals have risen from one to two since the summer siege.

• Despite gains, 90% of families still rely on firewood or trash for cooking, posing health and safety risks; families are sheltering in wadis (areas where water flows), posing serious risks as winter begins; Renard shares stories of families losing loved ones while fetching fuel near Israeli military zones and mothers raising newborns in soaked tents amid waste piles.

• The ceasefire has eliminated large-scale looting that occurred while Israel had security control, which Renard described as “perhaps one of the most major impacts of the ceasefire,” but aid delivery remains fragile, with rations cut from 75% to 50% due to inconsistent goods flow; only two entry points (Kerem Shalom in the south and newly opened Zikim in the north) are operational, leading to congestion and limited access to northern areas like Jabalia and Beit Lahiya, where access remains dangerous and inconsistent.

• WFP is demanding access to the Salah-din central artery, as the Al-Rashid coastal road is damaged and flooded.

• Markets show more variety, but nutritious foods like proteins are unaffordable for many, accessible only once a week compared to three times pre-ceasefire; disparities worsen in conflict-adjacent areas where services and markets are scarce.

• The IPC famine assessment, released on December 19, 2025, confirms that famine has been pushed back and averted in Gaza, with improved aid access leading to a reversal from summer famine conditions; however, the report warns that at least 1.6 million people (77% of the population) still face high levels of acute food insecurity, more than 100,000 are in catastrophic conditions, and acute malnutrition persists, reflecting the contradiction between fragile gains and ongoing brutality.

• A new Israeli registration regime for international NGOs threatens operations, potentially closing health facilities, losing hospital beds, and halting nutrition programs; this could catastrophically impact $1 billion in annual aid and violate international humanitarian law.

• Renard stressed that food access gains are reversible—Gaza is one disruption away from renewed hunger and suffering—without sustained access, functioning infrastructure, an end to movement restrictions, more crossings, and increased volume of aid entering; he called for more access and aid volume, alongside private sector revival to move beyond handouts toward job creation and economic stability.

Despite these fragile gains, Gaza is still gripped by starvation and despair. We must keep raising our voices relentlessly, demanding that far more aid be allowed in without delay. Continue donating generously wherever you can. Stand strong with Gaza—now more than ever.