Famine Declared In Gaza City

The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, or IPC, said famine is occurring in Gaza City, home to hundreds of thousands of Palestinians, and that it could spread south to Deir al-Balah and Khan Younis by the end of next month.

The United Nations on Friday officially declared a famine in Gaza, the first in the Middle East, with its experts saying 500,000 people were facing "catastrophic" hunger. After months of warning of the deteriorating humanitarian situation, the Rome-based IPC panel said famine was now confirmed in the Gaza Governorate which covers about 20 percent of the Gaza Strip. FRANCE 24's Kethevane Gorjestani has more on the criterias IPC settled to declare this famine.

A famine has officially been confirmed in Gaza City and the surrounding neighborhoods by a UN-backed, globally recognized system for classifying food insecurity and malnutrition.

This announcement is the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification's (IPC) first outside of Africa. Gaza City is home to around half a million people.

Sky's Adam Parsons is in Jerusalem.