The United Nations has said two of the three famine thresholds have been reached in Gaza - plummeting food consumption and acute malnutrition.
It adds there's mounting evidence that "widespread starvation, malnutrition and disease" are driving a rise in hunger-related deaths, which is the third famine indicator.
Ross Smith, Director of Emergencies with the UN World Food Programme, says "this is not a warning, this is a call to action."
"This is unlike anything we have seen in this century. It's clearly a disaster unfolding in front of our eyes, in front of our television screens."
He adds, “the worst-case scenario of famine is currently playing out in Gaza", as one in three Palestinians are going without food for days at a time.
The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification platform projects "catastrophic levels of food insecurity" for the entire population of Gaza by September.
Hospitals are overwhelmed and have treated more than 20,000 children for acute malnutrition since April, with at least 16 children under five dying from hunger-related causes since mid-July.
Gaza has a population of some 2.1 million people and 90 per cent have been displaced, many of them multiple times over. More than 762,500 displacements have been recorded since March 18th.
Humanitarian access meanwhile remains severely restricted, with aid convoys frequently obstructed or looted.
Israeli attacks in the enclave have killed more than 59,500 people since the Hamas attack on Israel in October 2023.
An estimated 70 per cent of Gaza's infrastructure has been destroyed, with safe areas reduced to less than 12% of the entire territory.
Food security experts are appealing for the protection of civilians, humanitarian personnel and critical infrastructure including health, water, sanitation, roads and telecommunications networks.
On Sunday, Israel announced it would begin daily humanitarian pauses in Gaza, but despite the pauses, 69 Palestinians were killed on Sunday - 63 in attacks and 6 from starvation.
More than 100 trucks of aid reportedly entered on Sunday, but the United Nations continues to uphold the need to flood Gaza with food, fuel and medicine.
