Carl Skow, deputy executive director of the World Food Programme, told reporters in New York that starvation is spreading across Gaza, that child malnutrition is surging and that humanitarian access and operating conditions for relief agencies remain highly constrained. “It's worse than I've ever seen it before,” Skow said, adding both needs and constraints are at historic highs.

Skow said a recent IPC (Integrated Food Security Phase Classification) report indicated the entire population is acutely food insecure and that roughly 500,000 people were classified in the starvation category weeks ago; he said the situation has not improved since that assessment. He cited UNICEF figures showing about 90,000 children in urgent need of treatment for malnutrition and said “1 in 3 people in Gaza go for days without eating.”

Those figures, Skow said, illustrate why WFP is pressing for significantly larger and more predictable access. He said during an earlier period after a partial lifting of movement restrictions WFP managed only about 20–30 trucks per day — “far from enough” — and that when he was on the ground last week the price of a kilogram of wheat flour was over $25. He told reporters that WFP has enough food at border staging areas to feed Gaza’s population for about two months if conditions allow, and that WFP stands ready to scale up quickly should a ceasefire enable reliable access.

The briefing included specifics on operational constraints. Skow said roughly 85% of Gaza’s territory was experiencing active military operations, that convoys and vehicles face long waits for clearance — often 15–20 hours — and that fuel, spare parts and basic communications equipment are lacking. He described damage to armored vehicle windows and stripped radio antennas, and said WFP staff are working under “extreme pressure.”

Skow said WFP and UN teams have engaged Israeli authorities at multiple levels and received commitments on increased volumes, faster movement and less military presence during distributions, but he cautioned that implementation has been insufficient so far. “The proof is in the pudding,” he said, noting some progress allowing deliveries into the north on the day of his briefing but stressing that access must be daily and predictable to reduce prices and desperation.

On distribution methods and diversion risk, Skow described WFP’s safeguards: beneficiary lists tied to IDs, close-to-community distribution, and third-party monitoring. He said WFP has not been provided with evidence of systematic, large-scale diversion by armed groups, though WFP reported two diversion incidents about a year earlier and implemented mitigation measures. “We need to make everything possible to avoid any diversion. Our food needs to go to those most vulnerable,” he said.

Skow addressed bakeries and locally available food. He said none of WFP’s bakeries were operating at the time of his visit because owners were not comfortable opening amid high levels of desperation and chaotic distribution, and he said WFP must be able to deliver fuel and oil to support bakery operations. He also said markets and private-sector supply chains were largely inactive during his visit, with only minimal street sales (he cited seeing small bags of potatoes on a Gaza City street corner).

Reporters pressed Skow on alleged seizures and looting of convoys. He said distribution dynamics have shifted during the conflict and that some deliveries have been more orderly than others; he noted that in the north WFP had been able to conduct more orderly distributions in the past and reiterated the organization’s insistence on sustained, predictable northern access. He said WFP had seen instances of armed elements interfering with convoys but that the parties responsible in specific recent incidents were not always clear.

Skow reiterated that WFP could scale up “from tomorrow” if corridors and entry points (he cited Egypt, Jordan, the West Bank and Ashdod as examples discussed in broader humanitarian planning) were open and if security permitted movement from entry points to communities. He repeated that an effective ceasefire and a humanitarian protocol that opens multiple routes and secures distribution inside Gaza are urgent preconditions to reach the scale of deliveries needed to avert further mass hunger.

Skow spoke to the humanitarian evidence base and said WFP aims to remain strictly fact-based and objective. He pointed journalists to the IPC process and to UNICEF figures for child malnutrition. “That report stands,” he said of the IPC assessment, and added that because less food has entered Gaza since that assessment, WFP expects conditions are likely worse now.

The briefing closed with reporters asking follow-up questions about interactions between Israeli forces and civilians, the role of other humanitarian actors, and the operational feasibility of a rapid scale-up. Skow said WFP’s mandate and experience in other complex settings have prepared it to scale deliveries if safe, regular access is secured, but he insisted that without a ceasefire or substantial improvements in access the humanitarian situation will continue to deteriorate.