Mideast in Pictures: From Gaza to Yemen, empty plates mark World Food Safety Day

CAIRO, June 7 (Xinhua) -- On World Food Safety Day, tens of millions of people across the Middle East are facing acute food shortages as protracted wars, economic collapse and mass displacement continue to cripple local food production and supply chains.

Recent data showed that more than 18 million people in Yemen and about 13.3 million people in Syria are food insecure; The entire food system in Gaza has collapsed, leaving about 77 percent of the enclave's population facing high levels of acute food insecurity; Sudan officially houses the world's largest hunger and internal displacement crisis.

The UN has repeatedly urged increased funding and unimpeded humanitarian access to prevent famine, stressing that without immediate action, millions more could slide into catastrophic hunger across the region.