The Chief Economist of the World Food Programme (WFP) noted that the scale and speed of the unfolding acute food insecurity situation in Gaza, observed over just two months, are unprecedented in their severity. The entire population in the Gaza Strip faces an imminent risk of famine, according to the latest estimates from the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) global partnership on 21 December. The proportion of households affected by acute food insecurity is the largest ever recorded globally, according to IPC report.
On 22 December, 69 trucks carrying supplies and five ambulances entered Gaza through Rafah crossing and 23 trucks entered through Kerem Shalom crossing. This remains well below the daily average of 500 truckloads (including fuel and private sector goods) that entered every working day prior to 7 October.
On 22 December, the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) announced that some of its staff members and paramedics who had been arrested on 21 December, were released late in the evening after being subjected to beatings, while eight staff members remained in custody. Additionally, PRCS reported that during the military operation, Israeli forces destroyed the wireless communication system in the centre along with ambulances in the branch.
On 20 December, UNICEF stated that children in Gaza are not able to access 90 per cent of their normal water use. The impact on children is severe, as they are more susceptible to dehydration, diarrhoea, disease, and malnutrition. Concerns of waterborne diseases such as cholera and chronic diarrhoea are particularly heightened given the lack of safe water, especially following the seasonal rains and flooding. Officials have recorded almost 20 times the monthly average of reported cases of diarrhoea among children under the age of 5, 160,000 cases of acute respiratory infection, and increases in other infectious conditions and illnesses, such as scabies, lice, chicken pox, and skin rashes.
Read the full report: Hostilities in the Gaza Strip and Israel | Flash Update #76
Women and girls in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, holding pots and other empty containers in front of a group of volunteers preparing soup for displaced families. On 22 December, the Secretary-General warned that ”widespread famine looms,” following the Integrated Phase Classification (IPC) Special Briefs produced by the IPC global initiative on Gaza. Screenshot from a video by UNICEF
