A catastrophic famine has officially been declared in Gaza, marking the first such declaration in the Middle East, according to the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC).
More than 500,000 people are facing starvation, with conditions expected to worsen in the coming weeks. By the end of September, projections warn that over 640,000 people could face catastrophic food insecurity, while an additional 1.14 million will be in emergency conditions.
UN Calls for Immediate Ceasefire
Four UN agencies — FAO, UNICEF, WFP, and WHO — are urgently demanding a ceasefire and unrestricted humanitarian access to prevent further mass deaths.
- QU Dongyu, FAO Director-General, said: “Access to food is not a privilege—it is a basic human right.”
- Catherine Russell, UNICEF Executive Director, warned: “Famine is now a grim reality. Without immediate action, famine will spread, and more children will die.”
Children Hit the Hardest
- Over 12,000 children were identified as acutely malnourished in July alone — a six-fold increase since January.
- Nearly 1 in 4 malnourished children suffer from severe acute malnutrition, a condition that is often fatal without urgent medical care.
Collapse of Essential Systems
- Almost all cropland in Gaza has been destroyed or rendered inaccessible.
- Nine out of ten residents have been repeatedly displaced, leaving families without homes or reliable access to food.
- Water, sanitation, and healthcare systems are near collapse, leading to disease outbreaks and worsening mortality rates.
UN agencies stress that only an immediate and sustained ceasefire can enable the scale of aid delivery required to halt mass starvation.
Meanwhile, Israel has denied the famine declaration, arguing that aid deliveries are being facilitated, though humanitarian organizations report severe restrictions on access.
Read More: Ghana Donates 40 Tonnes of Cocoa Products to Palestine as Humanitarian Aid