TEHRAN, Dec. 22 (MNA) – The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations warned that the risk of a food crisis in the Gaza Strip remains at the highest level.

According to the report, 79% of the population in Gaza is in Emergency (IPC Phase 4) or Catastrophe (IPC Phase 5).

"The extreme concentration or isolation of people in inadequate shelters or areas without basic services are major contributors to the risk of famine," FAO said, TASS reported.

According to the document, at least one in four households (or more than half a million people) face catastrophic acute food insecurity conditions.

The organization also pointed at alarmingly high acute malnutrition rates among children under five, and significant excess mortality.

MP/PR