ROME/UNITED NATIONS/GAZA/JERUSALEM/RAMALLAH - More than half a million people in Gaza are facing famine conditions marked by starvation and preventable deaths, according to the latest Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) released on Friday.

The assessment, conducted by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF), the World Food Programme (WFP) and the World Health Organization (WHO), said famine in Gaza City is now spreading southward to Deir al-Balah and Khan Younis. By the end of September, over 640,000 people are projected to face catastrophic food insecurity, with an additional 1.14 million at emergency levels and nearly 400,000 in crisis conditions.

The report confirmed that thresholds for extreme food deprivation, acute malnutrition and hunger-related deaths have been breached, marking the first officially declared famine in the Middle East since the IPC was established.

Israel tightened its blockade on Gaza after the collapse of a ceasefire with Hamas on March 2, sharply curbing food, fuel, and humanitarian aid deliveries.

UN agencies warned that intensified military operations and ongoing restrictions on humanitarian access could further exacerbate the crisis, leaving children, the elderly and people with disabilities at extreme risk. They stressed that an immediate ceasefire and a large-scale humanitarian response are essential to saving lives.

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The analysis showed that acute child malnutrition has reached record levels, with more than 12,000 children identified in July alone - a sixfold increase since January. By mid-2026, some 43,400 children and 55,000 pregnant or breastfeeding women are expected to face life-threatening malnutrition.

Nearly all cropland in Gaza has been destroyed or rendered inaccessible, while aid deliveries remain sporadic and insufficient. The enclave's health system has collapsed amid severe shortages of food, fuel, water and medical supplies, coupled with a surge in infectious diseases.

The UN agencies called for urgent measures, including sustained humanitarian access, restoration of commercial flows, rehabilitation of health services and support for local food production to prevent further catastrophe.

'Collective shame'

UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher said Friday that the confirmation of famine in Gaza is "a moment of collective shame" at a press briefing.

"It is a famine that we could have prevented, if we had been allowed," he said. "It is a famine that must spur the world to more urgent action. That must shame the world to do better."

At the press briefing in Geneva, Fletcher said: "Please read the IPC report, cover to cover. Read it in sorrow and in anger. Not as words and numbers but as names and lives. Be in no doubt that this is irrefutable testimony."

The famine unfolding in Gaza "could have been prevented", said Fletcher, adding that food supplies were piling up outside the border due to what he described as "systematic obstruction by Israel".

"My ask, my plea, my demand to (Israeli) Prime Minister (Benjamin) Netanyahu and anyone who can reach him: Enough. Ceasefire. Open the crossings, north and south, all of them. Let us get food and other supplies in, unimpeded and at the massive scale required," said the UN humanitarian chief. 

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The IPC announcement triggered a UN reaction led by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

"Just when it seems there are no words left to describe the living hell in Gaza, a new one has been added: 'famine,'" he said in a statement while visiting Expo 2025 Osaka in Japan.

"This is not a mystery, it is a man-made disaster, a moral indictment and a failure of humanity itself," he said, noting that famine is not only about food, but also the deliberate collapse of the systems needed for human survival.

As the occupying power, Israel has unequivocal obligations under international law, including the duty of ensuring food and medical supplies for the population, said Guterres, adding that this situation could not be allowed to continue with impunity.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk also issued a statement, stressing that the famine in Gaza is the direct result of actions by the Israeli government, which has unlawfully restricted the entry and distribution of humanitarian assistance and other essential goods.

Also on Friday, the head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees accused Israel of deliberately causing famine in Gaza after international monitors confirmed that famine conditions have taken hold in the enclave.

"Months of warnings have fallen on deaf ears. Famine is now confirmed in Gaza City," Philippe Lazzarini, commissioner-general of UNRWA, wrote on X. He said the crisis was "by design and man-made", blaming Israel for blocking food and other basic supplies, including UN aid, for months.

Israel rejects famine report

The Israeli Prime Minister's Office rejected a UN-backed report confirming famine in Gaza, saying it was "an outright lie".

"Israel does not have a policy of starvation. Israel has a policy of preventing starvation," Benjamin Netanyahu's office said in a statement.

The statement added that many aid trucks were looted before reaching distribution points. It also accused Hamas of stealing humanitarian aid to finance its military activity.

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The statement said the temporary shortages were resolved with airdrops, maritime deliveries, secured transport routes, and distribution points operated by US companies.

Meanwhile the Palestinian Foreign Ministry called for decisive international action to compel Israel to address and halt the spread of famine.

In a statement, the ministry urged action to compel Israel "to immediately halt the crimes of genocide, displacement, and annexation, as the only way to stop, contain, and address famine, prevent its spread, ensure the opening of crossings, allow sustainable delivery of humanitarian aid, and begin the immediate reconstruction of Gaza".

In a statement, Hamas said it considered the declaration "a confirmation of the magnitude of the humanitarian disaster our people are exposed to due to the ongoing Israeli aggression, which uses starvation as a tool of war and extermination against civilians, in blatant violation of international humanitarian law and all international norms and charters".

The movement called for immediate international action to stop the war, lift the blockade, open the crossings without restrictions for the entry of food, medicine, and water, and hold Israel legally accountable for using starvation as a weapon of war.