GAZA is at “high risk” of famine after Israel’s offensive in Rafah caused displacement and the disruption of aid operations in the south, despite an increase in aid in the north.

The report from the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), an initiative that includes more than a dozen United Nations agencies, aid groups, governments and other bodies, said that nearly all of the 2.2 million population in Gaza is struggling to get enough food.

Nearly half a million are expected to experience the highest level of starvation in the coming months, it said.

“The humanitarian space in the Gaza Strip continues to shrink and the ability to safely deliver assistance to populations is dwindling,” the report said.

“The recent trajectory is negative and highly unstable.

“Should this continue, the improvements seen in April could be rapidly reversed.”

Children, especially those with underlying medical conditions, are particularly vulnerable.

Manal Nayef, from Rafah with a newborn baby who is underweight, said: “As a mother, I was not well-nourished.

“And it is getting worse because he needs a special formula, and it is not available. He looks smaller than other children.”