Tragic Marker: Famine Declared in Gaza City

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The world’s leading authority on food crises says the Gaza Strip‘s largest city is gripped by famine, and that it is likely to spread across the territory without a ceasefire and an end to restrictions on humanitarian aid.

The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, or IPC, today said famine is occurring in Gaza City, home to hundreds of thousands of Palestinians, and that it could spread south to Deir al-Balah and Khan Younis by the end of next month.

The IPC determination comes after months of warnings by aid groups that Israel’s restrictions of food and other aid into Gaza, and its military offensive, were causing high levels of starvation among Palestinian civilians, particularly children.

Palestinians struggle to get donated food at a community kitchen in Gaza City, northern Gaza Strip, Saturday, August 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi, File)

The grim milestone — the first time the IPC has confirmed a famine in the Middle East — is sure to ramp up international pressure on Israel, which has been in a brutal war with Hamas since the militant group’s October 7, 2023, attack.

Israel says it plans to soon escalate the war by seizing Gaza City and other Hamas strongholds, which experts say will exacerbate the hunger crisis.

The IPC said hunger has been driven by fighting and the blockade of aid, and magnified by widespread displacement and the collapse of food production in Gaza, pushing hunger to life-threatening levels across the entire territory after 22 months of war.

More than half a million people in Gaza, about a quarter of the population, face catastrophic levels of hunger, and many are at risk of dying from malnutrition-related causes, the IPC report said.

Last month, the IPC said the “worst-case scenario of famine” was unfolding in Gaza, but stopped short of an official determination.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has denied there is hunger in Gaza, calling reports of starvation “lies” promoted by Hamas.

After the publication of images of emaciated children in Gaza and reports of hunger-related deaths, Israel announced measures to let more humanitarian aid in. Yet the UN and Palestinians in Gaza say what’s entering is far below what’s needed.