Famine officially declared in Gaza by global hunger monitor

Famine has been officially declared in Gaza for the first time by the Integrated Food Phase Classification (IPC), the UN-backed global hunger monitor. 

The IPC released a report on Friday morning in which it said that famine was taking place in Gaza City and surrounding towns, in an area home to around 500,000 displaced Palestinians. 

While the body has previously warned that famine was imminent across Gaza, it had stopped short of making a formal declaration. 

The IPC is the globally recognised system for classifying the severity of food insecurity.

Since its creation in 2004, it has declared just five famines. The most recent one was in Sudan last year. 

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