A high risk of famine persists across the whole of the Gaza Strip as long as the conflict between Israel and Hamas continues and humanitarian access is restricted, according to an assessment by a global hunger monitor.

More than 495,000 people, or more than one-fifth of Gaza's population, are facing the most severe, catastrophic level of food insecurity, an update from the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) said, a copy of which was seen by Reuters ahead of its release on Tuesday.