The United Nations on Friday officially declared a famine in Gaza – the first such declaration in the Middle East – with experts stating that 500,000 people are facing “catastrophic” levels of hunger.
UN Aid Chief Tom Fletcher described the famine as “entirely preventable,” alleging that food supplies are being blocked from entering the Palestinian territory “due to systematic obstruction by Israel.”
Israel’s Foreign Ministry immediately rejected the declaration, stating, “There is no famine in Gaza.” In a released statement, it dismissed the report by the Rome-based Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) initiative as “based on Hamas lies laundered through organisations with vested interests.”
UN agencies have warned for months about the rapidly worsening humanitarian situation in Gaza. In its latest update, the IPC confirmed that famine (IPC Phase 5) has been identified in Gaza Governorate – including Gaza City, which covers roughly 20% of the Gaza Strip – as of August 15. The famine is projected to extend to Deir el-Balah and Khan Yunis governorates by the end of September, affecting nearly two-thirds of the territory.
The report states, “After 22 months of relentless conflict, over half a million people in the Gaza Strip are facing catastrophic conditions characterised by starvation, destitution, and death.” This number, based on data collected between July 1 and August 15, is expected to rise to nearly 641,000 people – almost one-third of the population – by September.
The IPC described this as the most severe deterioration since it began monitoring hunger in Gaza. It attributed the crisis to a sharp escalation in the Israel-Hamas war, mass displacement, and severe restrictions on humanitarian and commercial food supplies. Israel completely banned aid to Gaza in early March, permitting only limited quantities by late May, resulting in critical shortages of food, medicine, and fuel.
UN official Fletcher stated that the famine should “haunt us all,” emphasising, “It is a famine that we could have prevented… Yet food stacks up at borders because of systematic obstruction by Israel.”
The IPC also highlighted the near-total collapse of Gaza’s local food system, with an estimated 98% of cropland damaged or inaccessible, livestock decimated, and fishing banned. The health system has severely deteriorated, and access to safe water and hygiene has been drastically reduced.
The IPC – a UN-backed coalition of monitors – defines famine using three criteria: at least 20% of households facing extreme food shortages, over 30% of children under five acutely malnourished, and a daily death rate of at least two per 10,000 people due to starvation or related diseases.