The Gaza Strip is confronting an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe with three-quarters of its population now experiencing acute hunger classified at IPC Phase 3 or higher, according to recent assessments. The remaining quarter faces chronic food deprivation in what humanitarian organizations describe as one of the most severe hunger crises globally.
Action Against Hunger’s Spanish chapter reports that extreme weather conditions and critical infrastructure damage have dramatically worsened the situation. Recent torrential rains have devastated displacement camps, flooding shelters and destroying essential belongings while exposing vulnerable populations to dangerously low temperatures and additional emergencies.
Affected families provided harrowing accounts of the flooding. ‘The water rushed toward us like a raging river, completely inundating our tent. The protective tarpaulins collapsed and were damaged beyond repair,’ one survivor recounted. ‘We desperately attempted to construct sand barriers, hoping to divert the water from our shelter.’
The NGO further documented that Gazan families confront immense challenges in obtaining adequate nutrition. In Deir Al-Balah, numerous households can afford protein-rich foods or vegetables only once weekly due to catastrophic economic conditions. The systematic destruction of agricultural land, market infrastructure, and livelihood opportunities has left the population unable to meet their most basic food requirements, creating a dependency on humanitarian aid that struggles to meet overwhelming needs.