The UN and other humanitarian actors have not yet declared a state of famine in the war-torn Gaza Strip, despite worsening conditions in the Palestinian territory since Israel began its war on October 7, which has left over 30,000 killed.
However, "once a famine is declared, it is too late for too many people", said Jens Laerke, spokesman for the UN humanitarian agency OCHA.
"We have to look at what more and more voices, more and more loudly, are saying about the food security situation acros the Gaza Strip, in particular in the north," said Laerke.
"If something doesn't change, a famine is almost inevitable on the current trends."
Meanwhile, people in the Gaza Strip are risking their lives to find food, water and other supplies such is the level of hunger and despair amid the unrelenting Israeli assault, the World Health Organization (WHO) warned.
"The system in Gaza is on its knees, it's more than on its knees," WHO spokesperson Christian Lindmeier told reporters in Geneva. "All the lifelines in Gaza have more or less been cut."
Lindmeier said this had created a "desperate situation", as seen on Thursday, when more than 100 people seeking humanitarian aid in Gaza were killed by Israeli gunfire.