Famine experienced in Gaza, has been confirmed for the first time, with a global hunger monitor warning that the crisis will intensify in the coming weeks. The assessment is likely to increase international pressure on Israel to allow more humanitarian aid into the war-ravaged enclave.
According to the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), 514,000 people — nearly a quarter of Gaza’s population — are already facing famine conditions. That figure is projected to rise to 641,000 by the end of September.
FILE PHOTO: Palestinian woman Nozha Awad flees Al Shifa hospital following an Israeli raid with her triplet children, moving southward in the central Gaza Strip, March 21, 2024. Israeli forces raided Al Shifa hospital on Monday where Awad and her children were taking refuge. The Gazan mother, who was besieged at the hospital for three days, said she lived in famine-like conditions and her children became malnourished due to the lack of food, water and milk. She fled north Gaza on Thursday after the army ordered them to evacuate the hospital and move southward. REUTERS/Ramadan Abed /File Photo
The IPC report identified northern Gaza, specifically Gaza governorate, as the first area in famine. It warned that central and southern regions, including Deir al-Balah and Khan Younis, will also be in famine by next month.
Israel has rejected the findings, calling them “false and biased.” COGAT, the Israeli military body responsible for coordinating aid deliveries, accused the IPC of relying on “partial data originating from the Hamas Terrorist Organisation.” It insisted that recent increases in food supplies to Gaza were overlooked.
The U.N. human rights chief Volker Türk said the famine was a direct result of Israeli government actions and warned that deaths from starvation could constitute a war crime.
Mourners react during the funeral of Palestinians killed by Israeli fire while trying to receive aid and others killed in Israeli strikes on Wednesday, according to medics, at Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, August 21, 2025. REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
For an area to be classified as in famine, at least 20% of the population must face extreme food shortages, one in three children must suffer acute malnutrition, and two people per 10,000 must be dying each day from starvation or related disease. Even when those thresholds are not fully met, the IPC can determine that households are enduring famine conditions, marked by starvation and destitution.
This marks the fifth famine the IPC has identified in the past 14 years, following similar crises in Somalia, South Sudan and Sudan. The system, involving U.N. agencies, aid groups and regional organizations, provides analysis for governments to act upon but does not itself declare famine.
The United Nations has repeatedly criticized obstacles to delivering aid in Gaza, blaming Israel for access restrictions and lawlessness within the territory. Israel counters that Hamas steals aid, an allegation the militants deny.
Palestinians run towards airdropped aid packages, in Deir Al-Balah, in the central Gaza Strip August 19, 2025. REUTERS/Ramadan Abed
The crisis unfolds amid growing international concern. Countries including Britain, Canada, Australia and several in Europe have described Gaza’s humanitarian situation as “unimaginable.” U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has long warned of an “epic humanitarian catastrophe” in the enclave of more than 2 million people.
U.S. President Donald Trump recently acknowledged widespread starvation in Gaza, putting him at odds with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who denies famine exists. A Reuters/Ipsos poll this week found 65% of Americans believe the U.S. should help those starving in Gaza.
Pictures lie on the ground as Palestinian and Israeli activists take part in a protest against starvation in Gaza, near Beit Jala, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, August 21, 2025. REUTERS/Mussa Qawasma
The war erupted on October 7, 2023, when Hamas fighters killed 1,200 people in southern Israel and took about 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies. Since then, more than 62,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s military campaign, according to Gaza health officials.
Talks mediated by the United States, Qatar and Egypt are ongoing in hopes of securing a ceasefire and the release of remaining hostages.
