Gaza's population is facing the “worst-case scenario of famine" and “widespread death” will occur without immediate action, the leading international authority on food crises has warned.

The “worst-case scenario of famine” is currently taking place in the Gaza Strip, according to an alert issued by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), a United Nations-backed initiative.

The worst case scenario of famine is playing out in the Gaza Strip, where food and nutrition indicators have reached their most dire levels since the conflict began.

France will air-drop aid into Gaza in coming days, a diplomatic source quoted by French news agency AFP said on Tuesday. The move comes as UN-backed experts warned the Israeli-blockaded Palestinian territory is slipping into famine.

The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), a private U.S.- and Israeli-backed group, said it has distributed over 96 million meals since late May, in boxes of staples such as rice, flour, pasta, tuna, beans, biscuits and cooking oil.

Experts warned Tuesday that the territory of about 2 million Palestinians is on the brink of famine after Israeli restrictions and a breakdown of security have made it nearly impossible to safely deliver aid.

Israel’s army is expected to begin another 10-hour pause in military activity in parts of Gaza as aid agencies call on all border crossings to be opened.