last month. In August, the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) which monitors and classifies global hunger crises said that half a million people - about a quarter of Gaza's population - lived in areas suffering from famine. The UN and other humanitarian agencies have been able to increase food getting into Gaza since October's ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. Israel's foreign ministry said the IPC report was "deliberately distorted" and "doesn't reflect the reality in the Gaza Strip".

The latest IPC analysis suggests that a month ago, half a million Gazans were still facing emergency conditions and more than 100,000 were still under the highest level of food insecurity - IPC Phase 5 - experiencing "catastrophic conditions".

It projects that number will continue to decrease but stressed the situation remains "highly fragile". IPC Phase 5 signifies the most extreme level of food insecurity, labelled "famine" for an area or "catastrophe" when referring to households. The report said no areas in Gaza were now classified as "in famine". Israel rejected the original findings of famine by the IPC and has continued to criticise its methodology. Cogat, the Israeli military body which controls Gaza's crossings, said the number of trucks with food aid entering each week went beyond what the UN had determined it needed. "The report relies on severe gaps in data collection and on sources that do not reflect the full scope of humanitarian assistance," the body said in a statement. Responding to the Cogat ctiticism, the IPC said publicly available data from UN sources and Cogat had been used for the analysis. The IPC said acute malnutrition was at critical levels in Gaza City and serious in Deir al-Balah and Khan Younis.

In the coming months the situation is expected to remain severe but the number of people facing the most severe conditions is predicted to fall to 1,900 by April, according to the report. But it added that, if there were renewed hostilities, the entire Strip would be at risk of famine. (BBC)