Gaza is facing a dire food crisis, with a staggering 1.84 million residents experiencing acute malnutrition, a figure that has surged tenfold since the onset of the Israel-Hamas conflict, reveals a new report.

The report from the International Food Security Phase Classification initiative, released Thursday, warns that the ongoing increase in violence raises alarms that this worst-case situation could soon become a reality.

This Tuesday, the Biden administration issued a warning to Israel, threatening to halt weapon shipments unless the volume of humanitarian aid entering the besieged coastal area increased significantly.

The report indicates that as of September, everyone in Gaza is classified at level four, denoting a food emergency. It predicts that in the ensuing months, those facing the most extreme category of food insecurity—level five—could triple in number.

Since the beginning of the conflict over a year ago, following the October 7th attack by Hamas insurgents that led to the death of 1,200 Israelis, aid workers and U.N. officials have been raising alarms about the risk of widespread famine in Gaza. Israel’s military response has resulted in over 40,000 Palestinian deaths, exacerbating the humanitarian situation.

“Famine is present—it’s fully developed in the north and is gradually spreading south,” stated Cindy McCain, director of the World Food Program, back in May. The U.N. had issued a warning about an impending famine in some areas of Gaza since mid-March.

The upcoming winter months could bring cooler weather that raises the risk of spreading diseases, as access to clean water diminishes, according to the IPC report.

Ongoing fighting has damaged about 70% of Gaza’s agricultural fields and disrupted livelihoods and food supply chains. The conflict has significantly hindered humanitarian efforts and dismantled public health infrastructure and access to safe water and sanitation.

Close to two million individuals have been displaced, with most living in overcrowded makeshift tents, reporting an alarming density of nearly 24,800 people per square mile, the report reveals.

The World Health Organization launched a vaccination program on Tuesday to immunize tens of thousands of children in Gaza, following a period during which the violence severely limited vaccine availability and led to polio outbreaks in the region.

Israel’s military and Hamas had negotiated temporary pauses in fighting to allow the vaccination efforts, but the U.N. reported an Israeli strike on Monday that hit a refugee tent camp near al Aqsa Hospital, resulting in four deaths and numerous injuries, many of them children. Disturbing footage from the aftermath depicted a victim engulfed in flames.

In response to this incident, the Biden administration expressed condemnation the following day. “We have communicated our concerns to the Israeli government,” stated Sean Savett, a spokesman for the National Security Council.

In a simultaneous letter to Israeli officials, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin emphasized the necessity for Israel to boost the flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza or risk losing military support.

“We are reaching out now to highlight the U.S. government’s grave worries regarding the worsening humanitarian crisis in Gaza and to urge immediate actions from your government to change this situation this month,” they conveyed.