One million people in the Gaza Strip or one in five Palestinians are facing hunger.

According to the latest report from the United Nations Integrated Food Security Stage Classification (IPC), acute food insecurity rates across the population are high.

"The risk of famine in the Gaza Strip is not only possible, but is increasingly likely," the IPC said.

For more than 73 days, Israel has blocked all food, water and medicines entering Gaza, causing an artificial crisis, and the IPC warns that famine can be declared at any time from now until September.

What is famine and when will it arrive?

Famine is the worst level of hunger, people face severe food shortages, widespread malnutrition and high levels of death due to hunger.

According to UN standards, when famine is declared:

• At least 20% (one in five) of households face extreme food shortages
• More than 30% of children suffer from acute malnutrition
• At least two out of every 10,000 people or 4 out of 10,000 children per day die from hunger or hunger-related causes.

Famine is not just hunger. It is the worst humanitarian emergency, showing that food, water and the system needed to survive is completely collapsed.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), at least 57 children have died from the effects of malnutrition since the start of the complete lockdown in Israel on March 2.

What is hunger effective on the body?

Israel uses hunger as a weapon of war. A report released by Medecins du Monde this week pointed out that in just 18 months, acute malnutrition in Gaza has risen to a level similar to that of countries that have lasted for decades of humanitarian crisis.

Hunger is when the body is deprived of food for so long, it suffers and dies frequently.

It is estimated that the human body can last for three weeks without food, but the length of time varies between individuals.

Hunger occurs in three stages. When you start skipping a meal at the first time, the second time occurs during a prolonged period of fasting, where the body uses stored fat for energy.

The third stage (usually the fatal stage) is when all stored fat is exhausted, and the body becomes bones and muscles as energy sources.

Impact on children

Children are most vulnerable to the ongoing Israeli lockdown on basic food.

According to the United Nations, more than 9,000 children have been taken to hospitals for treatment for acute malnutrition since the beginning of this year.

IPC predicts that from now until March 2026, nearly 71,000 children under the age of five will suffer from acute malnutrition, including 14,100 children facing severe malnutrition cases.

The effects of malnutrition on children vary, but the first 1,000 days of a child’s life (including up to two years of pregnancy) are crucial for the healthy development of children.

Malnutrition leads to highly proportional, maldevelopment, and ultimately death.

Earlier this month, Dr. Ahmed Abu Nasir, at the Kamal Adwan Hospital in Beit Lahiya in northern Gaza, said the situation has become worse than ever due to the lockdown.

"Kids are in the growth stage and are in great need of certain nutrients, including protein and fat," the pediatrician told Al Jazeera. "These are in the Gaza Strip, especially in the north."

Pregnant and breastfeeding women also need to be treated for malnutrition, with 17,000 women at this risk.

“Find a meal has become an impossible task”

Gaza's entire population, about 2.1 million people, are facing a level of food shortage that threatens its existence.

Earlier this month, Ahmad al-Najjar, a displaced Palestinian in Gaza, told Al Jazeera: “Find a meal has become an impossible pursuit.”

Although a large number of trucks carry important supplies piled up on the border between Egypt and the Gaza Strip, Palestinians in Gaza resort to selling garbage to afford the coveted food prices.

About 93% of Gaza's population have food insecurity levels higher than the crisis levels indicated by the IPC. If the situation does not change, IPC says there are 2.1 million people:

• 470,000 people (22% of the population) will face catastrophic levels of food insecurity, the worst stages that indicate famine, leading to hunger and death.
• More than one million (54%) will face the full level of emergency food insecurity, which is the second most severe stage where there is a risk of critical malnutrition.
• 500,000 people (24%) will face a crisis of food insecurity levels, the third-severe IPC phase, where households are dealing with inconsistent food consumption until extreme measures are taken to ensure food.

Essentially, Gaza's entire population could starve to death in a month.

In the Gaza Strip, malnutrition and hunger are evident, with underweight children and infants. In children, severe protein deficiency can lead to fluid retention and swelling of the abdomen.

Where is the most risky place in Gaza?

Food insecurity throughout the Gaza Strip seriously affects all areas of the blocked enclaves.

All 25 bakeries (WFP) supported by the World Food Programme (WFP) have been closed due to lack of supply, and most of the food stocks in 177 hot-dining kitchens have been reportedly exhausted.

Some governors are experiencing more severe levels of hunger. According to IPC:

• 30% of Northern Gaza face catastrophic food insecurity levels, 60% face emergency levels, and 10% face crisis levels.
• 25% of Rafah face catastrophic levels of food insecurity, 60% face emergency levels, and 15% face crisis levels.

The IPC said Israel’s ongoing lockdown “could lead to further large-scale displacement within the rulers and within states” as projects that are crucial to people’s survival will be exhausted.