Gaza – A historically unprecedented step in the Middle East: The United Nations has officially declared a famine in Gaza City. According to the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), a UN-supported expert panel, more than 500,000 people are currently at immediate risk of starvation. By the end of September, this number could rise to more than 640,000 – almost a quarter of the entire population of the Gaza Strip.
500,000 people acutely affected
According to the IPC, the available “reliable evidence” has met all criteria for the formal declaration of famine since August 15. The situation is particularly dire in Gaza City, but by the end of next month the regions of Deir al-Balah and Khan Younis could also become centers of the catastrophe.
International aid organizations have been warning for months that ongoing blockades on food and humanitarian supplies, as well as Israeli military operations, are steadily worsening the extent of hunger. The head of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), Tom Fletcher, stated: “This famine could easily have been prevented. The food was at the borders but was systematically denied access.”
Israel rejects allegations
Israel’s Foreign Ministry firmly rejected the IPC’s assessment. In a statement, it said there is “no famine in Gaza” and called the report the result of “Hamas propaganda spread through various interest groups.”
Strict criteria for famine
Internationally, a famine can only be declared when three conditions are met simultaneously:
- At least 20% of households have no access to sufficient food.
- At least 30% of children suffer from acute malnutrition.
- At least two adults or four children per 10,000 people die daily from hunger or related malnutrition.
Consequences of the ongoing war
For nearly two years, the Palestinian enclave has been suffering from the Israeli military offensive. According to local health authorities, more than 61,000 people have been killed. The figures do not distinguish between civilians and fighters. Israel justifies the offensive as self-defense following the Hamas attack in October 2023, in which 1,200 people were killed and 250 kidnapped.
The UN issues a stark warning: If the supply situation is not immediately improved, Gaza faces one of the worst humanitarian disasters in recent history.