United Nations: Gaza City and surrounding areas are officially in famine, an international hunger monitor said Friday, warning that starvation will soon spread further across the Palestinian territory. The determination is expected to intensify pressure on Israel to allow greater humanitarian access.
The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) reported that about 514,000 people, nearly a quarter of Gaza’s population, are suffering famine conditions. That figure could rise to 641,000 by the end of September, the group warned.
The IPC said 280,000 people in the Gaza governorate, which includes Gaza City, are already in famine following nearly two years of war between Israel and Hamas. It is the first time the global system has registered famine outside Africa. The IPC expects conditions to deteriorate further in central and southern Gaza, particularly in Deir al-Balah and Khan Younis, by next month. “The situation north of Gaza City could be even worse,” the IPC cautioned, though limited access has prevented a full assessment.
Famine has now been confirmed in Gaza.
Over half a million people are facing the most devastating form of hunger, warns @theIPCinfo.
An immediate ceasefire and unhindered humanitarian access is imperative to save lives.https://t.co/U2Dn8O0TS1 — via @WFP pic.twitter.com/rK8plfLAwm
— United Nations (@UN) August 22, 2025
UN Humanitarian Chief Tom Fletcher described the famine as “a tragedy that could have been prevented had we been allowed,” accusing Israel of obstructing aid convoys. “Food stacks up at borders while people starve,” he said.
Israel rejected the findings. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the report “an outright lie,” insisting that Israel does not have a policy of starvation and has enabled the delivery of two million tons of aid since the war began. Israeli officials said the IPC relied on partial data provided by Hamas and failed to account for recent food shipments.
The United States’ response was mixed. President Donald Trump has said “many people are starving,” placing him at odds with Netanyahu’s position.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres denounced the crisis as a man-made disaster, a moral indictment, and a failure of humanity. He called for an immediate ceasefire, the release of all hostages, and unfettered humanitarian access.
“It is a famine. The Gaza Famine.
It is a famine that we could have prevented, if we had been allowed. Yet food stacks up at borders because of systematic obstruction by Israel.
Everyone owns this. The #GazaFamine is the world’s famine.”
– @UNReliefChief pic.twitter.com/zvfplQPQqU
— United Nations Geneva (@UNGeneva) August 22, 2025
Volker Turk, the UN human rights chief, warned that deaths from starvation could constitute a war crime. Israel has rejected such accusations.
International condemnation mounted on Friday. Britain described the findings as utterly horrifying and urged Israel to allow immediate deliveries of food, fuel, and medicine. Canada, Australia, and several European governments have also voiced alarm at the unimaginable levels of suffering.
The IPC has previously declared famine only four times: Somalia in 2011, South Sudan in 2017 and 2020, and Sudan in 2024. For a region to qualify, at least 20 percent of its people must face extreme food shortages, one in three children must be acutely malnourished, and at least two people per 10,000 must die each day from hunger or related disease.
