Doha: The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) said around 1.4 million people in the Gaza Strip, representing about two-thirds of the Strip's population, are currently experiencing acute food insecurity.

According to Qatar News Agency, the two UN agencies issued a joint statement indicating slight improvement in the situation compared to the end of last year, but emphasized that conditions remain critical, especially for vulnerable groups, young children, and older people.

The agencies estimated that the number of people facing acute food insecurity has decreased from 1.6 million, or 77 percent of the population, at the end of last year to approximately 1.4 million. However, despite this improvement, nearly 212,000 people continue to be in the "emergency" phase, classified as Phase 4 under the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC).

The statement also highlighted that approximately 74,000 children are expected to require treatment for acute malnutrition in the coming year, and around 25,000 pregnant and breastfeeding women will need nutritional support.

It further noted that many affected individuals reside in areas near the line controlled by the Israeli military, where access to humanitarian aid and essential services remains extremely limited. The IPC classifies food insecurity into five phases, with Phases 3 to 5 indicating acute food insecurity and Phase 5 representing catastrophic famine conditions.