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<\/a><\/p>\nDisplaced Palestinians carry food parcels and supplies from aid trucks near the Zikim border crossing between Israel and Beit Lahia, in the northern Gaza Strip, Aug. 18, 2025. (Khalil Kahlout\/ Flash90)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
The declaration on Friday by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification system adds to a contested field of claims about hunger in Gaza, with pro-Palestinian voices warning for nearly the entire length of the Israel-Hamas war beginning in October 2023 that mass starvation was imminent and Israel and its defenders contending that sufficient aid has entered Gaza to sustain civilians, despite temporary blockades and rocky distribution efforts.<\/p>\n
The IPC report says a recent increase in aid, which followed a widespread outcry about hunger in Gaza, is not enough to stem the crisis.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe complete halt of humanitarian and commercial food deliveries in March and April, followed by critically low volumes through July, coupled with the collapse of local food production has led to extreme food shortages,\u201d the group said in its report. \u201cWhile 55,600 metric tonnes of food entered Gaza in the first half of August, this remains largely insufficient to offset the prolonged deficits.\u201d<\/p>\n
Israel quickly rejected the determination. \u201cIf famine = falling prices + 300 daily aid trucks + open aid routes Gaza must be the first famine in history marked by abundance,\u201d tweeted the Israeli office responsible for aid in Gaza, called Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories or COGAT. It alleged that the IPC had lowered its standards for declaring famine in order to smear Israel.<\/p>\n
The IPC is a tool used by a consortium of food insecurity experts who monitor conditions around the world and advise the United Nations and other entities about what they learn. The report says the group\u2019s conclusions about what is happening in Gaza were constrained by limited access and information about some portions of the enclave, home to about 2 million Palestinians.<\/p>\n
Its declaration applies to a region that includes Gaza City, which the Israeli army is preparing to enter. The group said other portions of Gaza still face widespread hunger challenges and are projected to enter famine conditions by the end of September.<\/p>\n
Some skeptics of claims about hunger in Gaza had cited the lack of an official declaration of famine as evidence that conditions were not as extreme as some claimed, and as viral photographs of emaciated children and lines at aid stations would seem to suggest.<\/p>\n
The price of food staples in Gaza skyrocketed in recent months, offering evidence of scarcity, and President Donald Trump said he believed there was \u201creal starvation\u201d in the enclave, pressing Israeli officials to send more aid. Israel says the number of aid trucks entering Gaza has risen steadily.<\/p>\n
This week, celebrity chef Jose Andres visited Israel and Gaza, where his World Central Kitchen nonprofit has distributed food for most of the war. He expressed sympathy for sympathy on both sides of the conflict \u2014 and clarity about conditions in Gaza.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is hunger in Gaza,\u201d Andres told the Times of Israel. \u201cI don\u2019t know how much, but there is hunger in Gaza. And we need to make sure there\u2019s no hunger in Gaza.\u201d<\/p>\n