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A UN report has warned that more than one million people, half of Gaza’s population, could “face death and hunger” by mid-July.

“The conflict has caused unprecedented deaths, large-scale destruction and displacement, as well as severe restrictions on commercial goods, while humanitarian assistance faces extreme access limitations,” says the report by the World Food Programme (WFP) and the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO).

The report said this “is likely to continue, particularly in light of the expansion of military operations in Rafah.”

“In the absence of a cessation of hostilities and greater access, the mortality rate and the impact on the lives and future generations of Palestinians will increase markedly every day, even if famine can be avoided in the short term,” the UN said.

The UN report highlights that urgent aid is needed to avert a “catastrophic hunger crisis” not only in Gaza, but also in Sudan, Haiti, Mali and South Sudan, which are facing “catastrophic situations”.

“In all of these regions, the underlying cause of hunger is conflict,” the UN explains, adding that each of these countries “contains communities that are facing, or are at risk of facing, hunger.”

In Sudan, “already severe levels of food insecurity could worsen with catastrophic consequences as the conflict escalates, with its devastating socioeconomic impact and severely restricted humanitarian access,” the report elaborates.

Since April 2023, Sudan has been mired in a civil war between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RRF). According to the United Nations, 18 million people in Sudan “suffer from acute food insecurity, including 3.6 million acutely malnourished children.”

Meanwhile, the report says the number of people facing hunger and death in South Sudan “will almost double between April and July 2024, compared to the same period in 2023.”

WFP Executive Director Cindy McCain stressed the need to “act now to prevent a hunger storm from spreading”.

The United Nations has highlighted “conflict, extreme weather conditions and economic crises” as key factors that are “pushing vulnerable families into food crises.”