UNITED NATIONS/GAZA - About 1.6 million people in the Gaza Strip, or more than 75 percent of the population, are projected to face extreme levels of acute food insecurity and critical malnutrition risks, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Friday.

At a press encounter, Guterres said famine there "has been pushed back", and more people are able to access the food they need to survive, as the United Nations and its partners are preparing more than 1.5 million hot meals every day and delivering general food assistance packages across Gaza.

Clean water is reaching more communities, some health facilities have reopened, and in the wake of the winter storms, the international community acted immediately to provide support, Guterres said.

"This is a testament to the hard work of humanitarians and Member States, along with growing cooperation with the Civil-Military Coordination Center," he said.

"But gains are fragile - perilously so," said the UN chief.

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Since October, the United Nations has done everything possible to keep lifelines open, but needs are growing faster than aid can get in, he said.

"We need a truly durable ceasefire," said Guterres, calling for more crossings, the lifting of restrictions on critical items, the removal of red tape, safe routes inside Gaza, sustained funding and unimpeded access.

At least five Palestinians killed

Meanwhile, Gaza's Civil Defense said at least five Palestinians were killed and several others injured Friday evening in an Israeli artillery strike on a school for displaced people in the Tuffah neighborhood, east of Gaza City.

Mahmoud Basal, the Civil Defense spokesman, said the school was hit while civilians were inside for a wedding celebration.

Basal said that the school, located near a hospital, remained under continuous attack, which delayed the arrival of rescue teams. He said that some of the injured were evacuated using civilian vehicles.

Additional shells fired after the initial strike worsened the situation, he added, noting that most of the dead were children.

Basal condemned attacks on schools and shelters for civilians as serious violations of international law, calling on the international community to protect civilians.

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Local sources reported that Israeli tanks continued shelling eastern Tuffah, preventing ambulances from reaching the site for hours.