UN: Food and Water at All-Time Low in Gaza

The United Nations has warned that food and water supplies in the besieged region of Gaza have reached critically low levels, and urgent action is needed to prevent further crisis.

On December 2, the UN’s Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), along with the United Nations Deputy Secretary-General and humanitarian partners, called for unrestricted and safe access to provide large-scale emergency agricultural aid to prevent famine and further loss of life in Gaza.

FAO Deputy Director-General Beth Bechdol speaking at the Cairo Ministerial Conference said;

“Today, food availability is at an all-time low across the entire Gaza Strip, and food supply has sharply deteriorated,”

‘ The window of opportunity to deliver assistance is now, today, not tomorrow. Food, medicine and fuel are self-evident priorities, but we must also prioritize the ability to grow food locally where it is needed most to ensure survival.”

The latest Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), released in October, warned of a famine risk in the Gaza Strip from November 2024 through April 2025.

Currently, around 133,000 people—6 percent of Gaza’s population—are facing catastrophic levels of food insecurity (IPC Phase 5, Catastrophe), meaning they have almost no food and cannot meet their basic needs. This number is expected to nearly triple in the coming months.

In early November, the independent Famine Review Committee noted that famine is likely already occurring or imminent in parts of northern Gaza.

Bechdol, reiterated the organization’s commitment to scaling up its response to prevent famine from spreading across Gaza and beyond, stressing that this can only be achieved with unhindered access.

He urged Member States to increase pressure to lift the ban on private food imports that has been in place in southern Gaza since early October.

He also called for mobilizing resources to fund FAO’s $53 million appeal, which is part of the 2025 UN Humanitarian Flash Appeal. These funds will provide critical agricultural inputs to about 80,000 farmers, herders, and fishermen, helping restore local food production.

“In Gaza, ensuring the right to food is not just about meeting immediate needs—it is about safeguarding human dignity, preventing famine from spreading, and laying the groundwork for rebuilding a resilient agrifood system,” she concluded.

Before October 7, Gaza was largely self-sufficient in producing vegetables, eggs, fresh milk, poultry, fish, and much of its red meat, olive oil, and fruits.

However, more than a year into the ongoing conflict, Gaza’s agrifood systems have collapsed, and local food production—once the primary source of nutrition, and often the only available food source—has been devastated, according to the FAO.

Recent geospatial analysis by FAO-UNOSAT reveals that nearly 70 percent of croplands, which contributed up to one-third of daily food consumption, have been damaged or destroyed since the escalation of hostilities. Orchards, greenhouses, water wells, and other agricultural infrastructure have suffered similar fates.

In addition, nearly 95 percent of cattle and over half of the sheep and goat herds have perished. These losses have not only deprived people of vital sources of protein and milk, but also severely impacted livelihoods across the region.