Famine has struck Gaza, says global hunger monitor
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Diverging Reports Breakdown
UN declares famine in Gaza, first ever in Middle East
The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification system said 514,000 people, nearly a quarter of Palestinians in Gaza, are experiencing famine. The assessment will escalate pressure on Israel to allow more humanitarian aid into the war-torn Palestinian enclave. Israel dismissed the report as “false and biased”, with the military body that coordinates aid deliveries into Gaza saying the IPC had based its survey on “partial data originating from the Hamas Terrorist Organisation” UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has long warned of an “epic humanitarian catastrophe” in the enclave of more than 2 million people.
The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification system said 514,000 people, nearly a quarter of Palestinians in Gaza, are experiencing famine, and that number was expected to rise to 641,000 by the end of September.
Some 280,000 of those people are in a northern region covering Gaza City – known as Gaza governorate – which the IPC said was in famine, its first such determination in the enclave. The rest are in Deir al-Balah and Khan Younis, central and southern areas that the IPC projected would be in famine by the end of next month.
Israel dismissed the report as “false and biased”, with the military body that coordinates aid deliveries into Gaza saying the IPC had based its survey on “partial data originating from the Hamas Terrorist Organisation”.
The Israeli foreign ministry on Friday categorically rejected the findings, saying there was no famine in Gaza and that the findings were based on “Hamas lies”.
“There is no famine in Gaza,” said the ministry in a statement and slammed the document saying it was “based on Hamas lies laundered through organisations with vested interests”.
For a region to be classified as in famine at least 20 percent of people must be suffering extreme food shortages, with one in three children acutely malnourished and two people out of every 10,000 dying daily from starvation or malnutrition and disease.
Even if a region has not yet been classified as in famine because those thresholds have not been met, the IPC can determine that households there are suffering famine conditions, which it describes as starvation, destitution and death.
UN human rights chief Volker Türk said on Friday that famine in Gaza was the direct result of Israeli government actions, and warned that deaths from starvation could amount to a war crime.
The IPC analysis comes after Britain, Canada, Australia and many European states said the humanitarian crisis had reached “unimaginable levels” after nearly two years of the war on Gaza.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has long warned of an “epic humanitarian catastrophe” in the enclave of more than 2 million people.
US President Donald Trump last month said many people there were starving, putting him at odds with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has repeatedly said there was no starvation.
Famine confirmed in northern Gaza, global hunger monitor says
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres says Gaza famine is a ‘man-made disaster’, calls for immediate action. Famine is occurring in the northern Gaza Strip and is projected to spread to central and southern areas by the end of September. At least 132,000 children under the age of five will be at risk of death from acute malnutrition by June 2026, the IPC estimates. The IPC global initiative described the situation as ‘a race against time’ and warned that ‘famine must be stopped at all costs’ Israel disputes the report and disputes the fatality figures, arguing that there is widespread hunger in Gaza and there is no famine in Gaza. Israel’s foreign ministry said in a statement that the report was due to the release of a “head of the report’ by the US ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, who attacked the US for ‘preemptively attacking’ the UN report. The US ambassador also attacked Israel for trying to ‘ preempt’ its findings.
Famine is occurring in the northern Gaza Strip and is projected to spread to central and southern areas by the end of September, a global hunger monitor has warned.
The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) initiative said on Friday that famine was occurring in the Gaza governorate, a region where hundreds of thousands of Palestinians live in northern Gaza, and that it was likely to reach the central region of Deir el-Balah and Khan Younis in southern Gaza by the end of next month.
After 22 months of conflict, more than half a million people are facing famine (IPC Phase 5), a catastrophic situation characterised by starvation, acute malnutrition, and mortality, it said. Another 1.07 million people – 54 percent of the population – are facing emergency (IPC Phase 4), and 396,000 people (20 percent) are in crisis (IPC Phase 3).
Conditions are expected to further worsen between mid-August and the end of September 2025, with famine projected to expand to the central Deir el-Balah and southern Khan Younis areas.
By the end of this period, almost a third of the population of Gaza – nearly 641,000 people – is expected to face catastrophic conditions (IPC Phase 5), while the number of people in emergency (IPC Phase 4) will likely increase to 1.14 million, or some 58 percent of the population.
This marks the most severe deterioration since the IPC partnership – which comprises 21 organisations including UN agencies, NGOs, technical agencies and regional bodies – began analysing acute food insecurity and acute malnutrition in the Gaza Strip.
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It also marks the first time a famine has been officially confirmed in Gaza.
The IPC global initiative described the situation as “a race against time”, adding that “famine must be stopped at all costs”.
It warned that acute malnutrition was projected to continue worsening “rapidly”.
At least 132,000 children under the age of five will be at risk of death from acute malnutrition by June 2026, it said. This number has doubled compared with the IPC estimates reported in May 2025.
This includes at least 41,000 severe cases at heightened risk of death.
Nearly 55,500 malnourished pregnant and breastfeeding women will require an urgent nutrition response, the IPC initiative added.
‘Man-made disaster’
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Gaza’s famine was a “man-made disaster, a moral indictment, and a failure of humanity itself.”
“Famine is not only about food; it is the deliberate collapse of the systems needed for human survival,” Guterres said. “People are starving. Children are dying. And those with the duty to act are failing.”
The UN chief said Israel, as the occupying power, has “unequivocal obligations” under international law, including the duty to unsure that food and medical supplies are made available to the population of Gaza.
“We cannot allow this situation to continue with impunity,” he said. “No more excuses. The time for action is not tomorrow – it is now.”
UN aid chief Tom Fletcher said Gaza’s famine was taking place “within a few hundred metres of food,” as aid trucks remain stuck at land crossings amid Israeli restrictions on commercial and humanitarian deliveries.
“It is a famine openly promoted by some Israeli leaders as a weapon of war,” Fletcher told a press conference.
In a plea to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Fletcher demanded that Israel “end the retribution” and open Gaza’s crossings for unrestricted access.
“Let us get food and other supplies in and at the massive scale required,” he said. “For humanity’s sake, let us in.”
‘No famine’ in Gaza
Israel does not accept that there is widespread malnutrition among Palestinians in Gaza and disputes the hunger fatality figures, arguing that the deaths are due to other medical causes.
Responding to the IPC report, Israel’s foreign ministry said there was no famine in Gaza.
“Over 100,000 trucks of aid have entered Gaza since the start of the war, and in recent weeks a massive influx of aid has flooded the Strip with staple foods and caused a sharp decline in food prices, which have plummeted in the markets,” the ministry said in a statement.
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Ahead of the report’s release, the US ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, preemptively attacked its findings. “You know who IS starving? The hostages kidnapped and tortured by uncivilised Hamas savages,” he wrote on X.
“Maybe the over fed terrorists could share some of their warehouse full they stole with hungry people especially the hostages”.
Israel has been insisting that Hamas is starving the remaining Israeli captives in Gaza, some of whom appeared emaciated in recent footage released by the Palestinian group.
Israel imposed a total blockade on Gaza in March and has severely restricted aid entering the territory since May, routing supplies via the controversial Isael and US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) scheme. According to the UN, more than 1,300 people seeking food supplies have been killed since late May, including 859 at GHF aid distribution sites, which are under the control of the Israeli military and private US contractors.
Amnesty International, among other human rights groups, has accused Israel of enacting a “deliberate policy” of starvation in Gaza and of “systematically destroying the health, wellbeing and social fabric of Palestinian life”.
Famine officially declared in Gaza City for first time by UN-backed group
Famine has struck an area of Gaza and will likely spread over the next month, a global hunger monitor has determined. The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification system said 514,000 people – nearly a quarter of Palestinians in Gaza – are experiencing famine. That was due to rise to 641,000 by the end of September, the IPC said. Israel’s Foreign Ministry has dismissed the declaration, saying there is no famine in Gaza.
Famine has struck an area of Gaza and will likely spread over the next month, a global hunger monitor has determined.
The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification system said 514,000 people – nearly a quarter of Palestinians in Gaza – are experiencing famine and that was due to rise to 641,000 by the end of September.
Some 280,000 of those people are in a northern region covering Gaza City – known as Gaza governorate – which the IPC said was in famine, its first such determination in the enclave.
The rest are in Deir al-Balah and Khan Younis – central and southern areas that the IPC projected would be in famine by the end of next month.
Israel’s Foreign Ministry has dismissed the declaration, saying there is no famine in Gaza.
“Over 100,000 trucks of aid have entered Gaza since the start of the war,” it said in a statement.
“In recent weeks a massive influx of aid has flooded the Strip with staple foods and caused a sharp decline in food prices, which have plummeted in the markets.”
For a region to be classified as in famine at least 20 per cent of people must be suffering extreme food shortages, with one in three children acutely malnourished and two people out of every 10,000 dying daily from starvation or malnutrition and disease.
Even if a region has not yet been classified as in famine because those thresholds have not been met, the IPC can determine that households there are suffering famine conditions, which it describes as starvation, destitution and death.
The IPC analysis comes after Britain, Canada, Australia and many European states said the humanitarian crisis had reached “unimaginable levels” after nearly two years of war between Israel and Palestinian militants Hamas.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has long warned of an “epic humanitarian catastrophe” in the enclave of more than 2 million people.
– ABC
World News: Famine confirmed in Gaza City for first time, UN-backed report says
Nearly a quarter of Palestinians in Gaza are experiencing famine. That figure is expected to rise to 641,000 by the end of September. Some 280,000 of those people are in a northern region covering Gaza City.
The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification system said 514,000 people – nearly a quarter of Palestinians in Gaza – are experiencing famine and that was due to rise to 641,000 by the end of September.
Some 280,000 of those people are in a northern region covering Gaza City, which the IPC said was in famine, its first such determination in the enclave. The rest are in Deir al-Balah and Khan Younis – central and southern areas that the IPC projected would be in famine by the end of next month.
For a region to be classified as in famine at least 20 per cent of people must be suffering extreme food shortages, with one in three children acutely malnourished and two people out of every 10,000 dying daily from starvation or malnutrition and disease.