The prospect of an assault on the southern Gaza city of Rafah is likely to exacerbate the situation drastically. An analysis by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (a.k.a. the IPC, a crisis monitoring collaboration among the world’s leading international aid groups) predicts that by mid-summer “in the most likely scenario and under the assumption of an escalation of the conflict including a ground offensive in Rafah, half of the population of the Gaza Strip (1.11 million people) is expected to face catastrophic conditions.” That’s identified in the analysis as Phase 5, “famine”—the most dire of possible outcomes the IPC can make.