For the first time in the Middle East, famine has been officially declared under the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, a system backed by the United Nations, on 22 August 2025. The particular situation has been confirmed in the battle-ravaged Gaza City, where millions of residents have been displaced and economic activities have been disrupted following the Israel-Hamas War. This is a historic and devastating milestone in a conflict that has already spanned nearly two years.
Gaza Famine Declared by UN-Backed Body Amid Increasing Israeli Operations, Mounting Hunger, and Ongoing Blockade
Understanding the Dire Situation
The classification system notes that famine is present when at least one-fifth or 20 percent of households face extreme food shortages, when nearly one-third or 30 percent of children suffer acute malnutrition, and when starvation causes extraordinary mortality rates. Recent data gathered between July and August 2025 show these conditions have been met.
Famine is very likely to spread further to Deir al Balah and Khan Younis by the end of September, according to the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification report. Averting this requires securing both a ceasefire and unrestricted access to humanitarian aid. More than half a million people in Gaza are already facing catastrophic hunger due to a lack of access to food.
Specifically, current estimates suggest that by late September 2025, nearly one-third or about 33 percent of the entire Gaza population may descend into catastrophic hunger. Humanitarian agencies caution that these numbers could underestimate the true extent of suffering due to extremely limited access for survey teams and disrupted monitoring systems.
Obvious Causes of Famine in Gaza
The situation is driven by interlinked factors. Ongoing fighting has destroyed infrastructure, agricultural collapse has crippled local production, and strict aid restrictions block sufficient supplies from reaching civilians. With mass displacement compounding these problems, hunger has escalated into a full-scale humanitarian emergency unmatched in the region.
United Nations Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher declared the famine predictable and preventable. He further described the situation as a result of a moral indictment of collective inaction. His remarks underline how the humanitarian disaster did not emerge suddenly but rather developed after months of worsening conditions across Gaza.
Robert Blecher and Chris Newton of the non-profit think tank International Crisis Group added that starvation has effectively become a tool of the campaign, pointing to preventable child deaths from hunger and disease. These assessments stress the intentional dimension of supply restrictions, casting the famine as both a humanitarian and political catastrophe.
Notable International Responses
The Israeli government has both refused to accept and discredited these findings. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dismissed reports of hunger as lies fabricated by Hamas. Officials pointed to new measures supposedly expanding aid deliveries, but humanitarian groups insist these steps remain wholly insufficient to reverse the worsening crisis.
Moreover, according to the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories, a military unit of the Israeli Ministry of Defense facilitating logistical coordination between Israel and the Gaza Strip, the famine declaration is false. It emphasized that aid access has been recently expanded. Note that Israel has further announced intensified military operations.
The World Health Organization, together with the Food and Agriculture Organization, UNICEF, and the World Food Program, reiterated the call for an immediate ceasefire and unhindered humanitarian access to curb deaths from hunger and malnutrition. The organizations noted that hundreds of thousands of people in Gaza have gone days without anything to eat.
FURTHER READINGS AND REFERENCES
- Blecher, R. and Newton, C. 31 July 2025. “The Worst-Case Scenario of Famine is Currently Playing Out in the Gaza Strip.” International Crisis Group. Available online
- Food and Agriculture Organization, UNICEF, World Food Program, and World Health Organization. 22 August 2025. “Famine Confirmed in Gaza For the First Time.” News. World Health Organization. Available online
- Haan, N., Hailey, P., Maxwell, D., Seal, A., Lopez, J., Fitzpatrick, M, and Jamuladdine, Z. 22 August 2025. Famine Review Committee: Gaza Strip, August 2025: Conclusions and Recommendations. Integrated Food Security Phase Classification. Available via PDF
Photo Credit: Jaber Jehad Badwan / Israeli airstrike on Gaza Strip during Gaza War 23-25 / 2025 / Adapted / CC BY-SA 4.0