U.N. officials, aid groups and experts have warned for months that Palestinians in Gaza are on the brink of famine without formally declaring one. Even though Israel eased a 2 1/2-month blockade on the territory in May, aid groups say only a trickle of assistance is getting into the enclave. Palestinians face catastrophic levels of hunger 21 months into Israel's offensive, which was launched after Hamas' Oct. 7 attack. The leading international authority on hunger crises has warned of famine, but has not yet obtained data that would meet its conditions for declaring one.

More than 300,000 refugees in the Kakuma camp in remote Kenya have had their food rations cut in half. And now the monthly cash transfers to buy proteins and vegetables to supplement them are gone. Funding for the U.N. World Food Program has dropped after the Trump administration paused support in March. It's part of the widespread dismantling of foreign aid by the United States, once the world's biggest donor. Some refugees are surviving on one meal a day. Some malnourished babies arrive too late at a local hospital and die within hours. Workers fear they will see more.

A report by the U.N. children's agency says 181 million children younger than 5 live in severe food poverty. That's more than a quarter of the world's youngest children. Africa's population of more than 1.3 billion people is one of the most affected mainly due to conflict, climate crises and rising food prices. The report says the continent accounts for one-third of the global burden and 13 of the 20 most affected countries. But it says some progress has been recorded in Africa, too. In northern Nigeria, women are being trained in gardening and cooking with the local produce.

A new report by an independent group of experts says it's possible that famine is underway in northern Gaza, but that the war between Israel and Hamas and restrictions on humanitarian access have impeded data collection to prove it. The report by the Famine Early Warning Systems Network on Tuesday said that people, including children, are dying of hunger-related causes across the besieged territory. It urges Israel's government to act urgently to allow more aid in. A formal declaration of a famine could be used as evidence at the International Criminal Court and at the International Court of Justice, where Israel faces allegations of genocide.

ROME (AP) — Pope Francis on Monday decried as criminal the existence of hunger in a world which can produce enough food for all, building on a…