The United Nations on Friday officially declared a famine in Gaza the first ever in the Middle East with experts warning that more than 500,000 people are facing “catastrophic” hunger.

The declaration came from the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification Initiative (IPC), a UN-backed coalition that monitors global hunger crises. According to its latest assessment, famine (IPC Phase 5) is now confirmed in Gaza Governorate Gaza City which covers about 20 percent of the territory.

The IPC projects that famine conditions will spread to Deir el-Balah and Khan Yunis governorates by the end of September, potentially affecting nearly two-thirds of Gaza.

“After 22 months of relentless conflict, over half a million people in the Gaza Strip are facing catastrophic conditions characterised by starvation, destitution and death,” the report stated, warning that the figure could rise to 641,000 people almost one-third of Gaza’s population within weeks.

Speaking in Geneva, UN aid chief Tom Fletcher described the famine as “entirely preventable,” blaming restrictions on humanitarian access.
“It is a famine that we could have prevented if we had been allowed. Yet food stacks up at borders because of systematic obstruction by Israel,” Fletcher told reporters.

The IPC report highlighted the collapse of Gaza’s food system: 98 percent of cropland has been destroyed or rendered inaccessible, livestock has been wiped out, and fishing remains banned. Severe shortages of medicine, clean water, and fuel have also worsened the crisis, with hospitals struggling to function.

Israel swiftly rejected the findings, insisting there is no famine in Gaza.

In a statement, its foreign ministry said the UN-backed report was “based on Hamas lies laundered through organisations with vested interests,” adding:
“In recent weeks, a massive influx of aid has flooded the Strip with staple foods and caused a sharp decline in food prices. This assessment too will be thrown into the despicable trash bin of political documents.”

COGAT, the Israeli defence ministry body overseeing civil affairs in the Palestinian territories, also dismissed the IPC assessment.
“COGAT firmly rejects the claim of famine in the Gaza Strip, and particularly in Gaza City,” the agency said, arguing that previous IPC reports had “repeatedly been proven inaccurate” and accusing the panel of ignoring Israeli-supplied data.

The Gaza war, which erupted after Hamas’s October 2023 attack on Israel that killed 1,219 people, has devastated the enclave. Israel’s subsequent military offensive has left at least 62,192 Palestinians dead, mostly civilians, according to Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry figures deemed credible by the UN.

UN agencies have for months warned of worsening hunger in the enclave, but Friday’s declaration marks the first time famine has been officially confirmed in Gaza and in the Middle East.

Famine is declared only when three strict conditions are met: at least 20 percent of households face extreme food shortages; at least 30 percent of children under five suffer acute malnutrition; and at least two out of every 10,000 people die daily from starvation or related disease.

Fletcher warned that the situation should “haunt the conscience of the international community,” urging urgent action to avert further catastrophe.