For the first time since the war began, a UN-backed food security body has formally confirmed famine in Gaza City and surrounding areas, warning that more than half a million people face “starvation, destitution and death.”
The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) report, released Thursday, paints a catastrophic picture: nearly 1.5 million people across the Gaza Strip are at risk of malnutrition or starvation, with conditions expected to worsen in the coming weeks.
“Children are paying the highest price of this conflict,” said Yousra Abu Sharekh, an aid worker in Gaza City who struggles to feed her two sons. “He cannot survive on bread, he cannot survive on only pasta … it’s killing me.”
‘They get dizzy from hunger’
On the ground, the suffering is palpable. Palestinian aid worker Mayed Hmaid, who runs a makeshift school, said the children she teaches arrive without breakfast and “get dizzy from hunger.”
“I want to cry,” she told the BBC. “There is nothing healthy like chicken, eggs, vegetables, fruits.”
Families report selling possessions or spending life savings for food. Anas al-Masry, who lives in Deir al-Balah, said he paid 3,000 shekels (£650; $880) for two boxes of dry goods. “Of course, there is no meat or any type of poultry,” he said.
Israel disputes famine findings
Israel has rejected the IPC findings. The foreign ministry called the conclusions “based on Hamas lies,” while Israeli envoy Fleur Hassan-Nahoum argued the data was “partial” and overlooked millions of meals distributed through the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF).
But famine experts dispute that claim. Alex de Waal of the World Peace Foundation told BBC that the IPC used “standard methodology” and had repeatedly asked Israel to allow proper surveys, which were denied.
‘Failure of humanity itself’
International reaction has been swift.
UN Secretary General António Guterres called the famine a “failure of humanity itself,” urging immediate, unrestricted access for humanitarian aid.
UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy condemned the crisis as a “wholly preventable, man-made catastrophe.” He pressed Israel to allow food, medicine, and fuel into Gaza “without obstruction” and called for a ceasefire.
Humanitarian groups echoed that alarm. Save the Children reported that 61% of pregnant women and new mothers in Gaza are malnourished, up from 9% in March. Mercy Corps described the famine as “the direct result of deliberate restrictions on aid.”
‘We have been displaced more than 13 times’
Displacement adds another layer of trauma. One Gaza resident told the BBC her family had been uprooted “more than 13 times” since the war began. Another said moving is nearly impossible with scarce fuel and soaring transport costs.
UNICEF spokesperson Tess Ingram warned: “We’re talking about a potential military escalation in an area just classified as a famine zone. The people there are beyond exhausted; they do not have the capacity to move.”
A deepening humanitarian catastrophe
For many Gazans, the recognition of famine comes too late.
“The declaration of famine came too late, but it is still important,” said Reem Tawfiq Khader, a mother of five in Gaza City. “My youngest child is four years old – he doesn’t know what fruit and vegetables look or taste like.”
David Miliband, president of the International Rescue Committee, said the famine was “a man-made catastrophe, unfolding in full view of the world and entirely preventable.”
With famine now officially confirmed, aid groups warn the international community has little time to act.