For the first time in history, famine has been formally declared in Gaza City, according to a damning report by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), a UN-backed body that monitors hunger and malnutrition globally. The confirmation has sent shockwaves across the international community, with the United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres calling the crisis “a man-made disaster, a moral outrage, and a failure of humanity itself.”
This announcement marks a dark turning point in the 680-day-long conflict, as the situation for over two million Palestinians trapped in Gaza deteriorates rapidly under siege, bombardment, and aid restrictions.
What the Report Says
The IPC report, stretching across 59 pages, paints a catastrophic picture of life inside Gaza:
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More than 500,000 people in Gaza City are now in Phase 5 – Catastrophe/Famine, the most severe classification of hunger.
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The report warns that famine is likely to spread to Deir al-Balah and Khan Younis next month if restrictions continue.
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Over 1.5 million people across the Strip are at risk of severe malnutrition, with children, infants, and mothers being the hardest hit.
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Evidence includes extreme acute malnutrition, widespread starvation, and rising hunger-related deaths.
The IPC emphasized that this famine is entirely man-made and therefore avoidable – but only if humanitarian aid is allowed in immediately and without restrictions.
Israel’s Response and Denial
The Israeli government has rejected the IPC’s findings, claiming there is “no famine in Gaza.” Officials argue that:
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Partial Data: They allege the IPC based its conclusion on incomplete information.
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Aid Shipments: Israel points to the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), a body backed by the US and Israel, which says it has delivered 150 million meals in recent months.
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Hamas Accusations: Israel accuses Hamas of diverting or stealing aid supplies.
Yet, independent famine experts, including Alex de Waal of the World Peace Foundation, dismissed these claims. He noted that Israel itself has prevented independent data collection inside Gaza since late 2023, and then criticizes the quality of data that comes out.
“The process and thresholds have not changed,” he explained. “Israel won’t permit humanitarian data collection and then complains about the lack of full data.”
UN and International Reaction
The famine declaration has triggered outrage across the globe:
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UN Secretary-General António Guterres: Called the crisis a “failure of humanity” and demanded unrestricted humanitarian access.
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UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy: Labeled the famine “utterly horrifying” and “man-made,” directly blaming Israel’s restrictions on aid.
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ActionAid UK: Described the situation as “an entirely engineered famine… a deep stain on our collective humanity.”
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International Rescue Committee (IRC): Warned that famine is now a “deadly reality” in Gaza, calling for urgent ceasefire and aid delivery.
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UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk: Stated that using starvation as a weapon of war constitutes a war crime and may amount to genocide under international law.
Voices from Gaza: Life Under Siege
Beyond the political arguments, the famine is most visible in the daily suffering of Gazans:
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Children collapsing from hunger: Aid workers report that children faint during school lessons because they come without breakfast.
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Families eating leaves and grass: With no meat, fruit, or vegetables available, many have turned to desperate survival methods.
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Skyrocketing food prices: A box of spaghetti, rice, and flour costs over 3,000 shekels (£650 / $880), far beyond the reach of ordinary families.
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Mothers unable to feed infants: With baby formula unavailable and women too malnourished to breastfeed, infants face deadly starvation.
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Rapid weight loss: Residents report losing 10kg or more in just months, as basic protein has disappeared from their diets.
A Gazan mother of five told the BBC:
“The declaration of famine came too late. My youngest child is four years old – he doesn’t know what fruit and vegetables look like.”
Another aid worker, Shaima al-Obaidi of Save the Children, recalled:
“Children told me they wished they would die so they could go to heaven and eat food.”
The Legal and Moral Question
Humanitarian experts stress that famine in Gaza is not a natural disaster caused by drought or crop failure – it is the direct outcome of deliberate policies of blockade, bombardment, and restrictions on aid.
Under international humanitarian law:
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Using starvation as a weapon is a war crime.
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Preventing the entry of essential supplies can amount to collective punishment, prohibited by the Geneva Conventions.
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The intentional creation of conditions leading to widespread death may constitute genocide.
This legal framing raises immense pressure on world powers and the UN Security Council to act. Yet, despite growing international outrage, aid convoys remain blocked or restricted, and the flow of food and medicine remains far below the needs of Gaza’s population.
A Preventable Catastrophe
The IPC’s Famine Review Committee highlighted that this is the fifth time it has had to review Gaza’s food crisis in less than two years. Never before has the same conflict returned to the brink of famine so many times.
Its conclusions are stark:
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“This famine is entirely man-made. It can be halted and reversed.”
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“Failure to act decisively now will result in an avoidable escalation of the catastrophe.”
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“The world must exert maximum pressure to achieve a ceasefire and open humanitarian corridors.”
Conclusion: A Deep Stain on Humanity
The famine in Gaza City stands as one of the gravest humanitarian failures of the 21st century. It is not caused by nature, but by deliberate human choices – choices that could still be reversed.
For the people of Gaza, recognition alone means little. As one displaced father put it:
“What matters is whether the world will act to save lives, or whether our children will keep dying slowly from hunger.”
The question now is whether global leaders will respond with urgency, or whether Gaza’s famine will remain, in António Guterres’ words, a shameful stain on our collective humanity.
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