GAZA STRIP – Gaza City and its surrounding area is now experiencing famine, a United Nations-backed body of food security experts has confirmed.
The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), which is used by governments and international bodies to identify hunger levels around the world, has raised its classification to Phase 5 – the highest and most severe.
It says that over half a million people across the Gaza Strip are facing “catastrophic” conditions characterized by “starvation, destitution and death”.
Israel said the IPC report was based on “Hamas lies”. It continues to restrict the amount of aid entering Gaza and has previously denied there is starvation in the territory.
This denial is in direct contradiction to what more than 100 humanitarian groups, witnesses on the ground, and multiple UN bodies have said.
The IPC report describes the famine as “entirely man-made” and says that an “immediate, at-scale response” is needed or there will be an “unacceptable escalation” in famine-related deaths.
It predicts that between mid-August and the end of September, famine will expand across the strip to Deir al-Balah and Khan Younis.
During this period, almost a third of the population – nearly 641,000 people – are expected to face “catastrophic conditions” in IPC Phase 5, while the number of people to face “emergency” conditions in IPC Phase 4 will likely increase to 1.14 million – or 58% of the population.
The report also projects that up to June 2026, malnutrition will “threaten” the lives of 132,000 children aged under five.
Since the start of the war, Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry has reported that 271 people have died of “famine and malnutrition” – including 112 children.
The IPC cannot officially declare famine – that is usually done by governments or the United Nations.
In response to the report, UN aid chief Tom Fletcher said the famine was entirely preventable, saying food could not get through to the Palestinian territory “because of systematic obstruction by Israel”.
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said: “Just when it seems there are no words left to describe the living hell in Gaza, a new one has been added: ‘famine’.”
He described it as “not a mystery,” but rather “a man-made disaster, a moral indictment, and a failure of humanity itself”.
He added that Israel has “unequivocal obligations under international law – including the duty of ensuring food and medical supplies of the population”.
Phillipe Lazzarini, head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (Unrwa), said: “This is starvation by design & man-made by the Government of Israel”.
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Turk described the famine as “the direct result of actions taken by the Israeli Government”, which has “unlawfully restricted” the entry of aid.
In recent months, Israel has come under widespread international condemnation for the aid situation in the Gaza Strip.
Last month, after weeks of mounting pressure, the Israeli military said it had airdropped humanitarian aid into Gaza – a move that was criticized at the time by aid agencies as a “grotesque distraction”.
Other aid drops have since taken place – but warnings have been issued about their safety, with reports that civilians were hit and killed by the falling pallets.
The IPC report comes as Israel prepares to launch a new military offensive aimed at occupying Gaza City.
Israel’s military launched a campaign in Gaza in response to the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage.
At least 62,122 people have been killed in Gaza since then, according to the territory’s Hamas-run health ministry.
Most of Gaza’s population has also been displaced multiple times; more than 90% of homes are estimated to be damaged or destroyed; and the healthcare, water, sanitation and hygiene systems have collapsed. (BBC)
