"The warning by global food security experts of the possibility of famine in the northern Gaza Strip is extremely worrying," World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Saturday.

In a post on his account on the "X" platform, Ghebreyesus called for "an immediate increase in humanitarian aid to Gaza, and providing safe access to it, especially food and medicines to treat severe malnutrition within days, not weeks."

The UN official stressed that "the warning by global food security experts of the possibility of famine in northern Gaza is extremely worrying."

A report by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) Famine Review Committee (a team of leading independent international experts in food security, nutrition and mortality) warned of “a strong likelihood of imminent famine in areas of northern Gaza, as the occupation continues.”

“There is a need for immediate action within days, not weeks, from all actors directly involved in or influencing the conflict to avert this catastrophic situation,” the Famine Review Panel said.

The report stressed that "the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip is extremely serious and is deteriorating rapidly."

The residents of Gaza and the north are suffering from a real "famine" in light of the scarcity of food, water, medicine and fuel, due to the siege imposed by Israel on the two governorates since the start of its ground operation on October 27, 2023, which has caused the death of a number of children and the elderly.