UN-Backed Experts Warn Famine Unfolding in Gaza Amid Aid Restrictions

Famine conditions are developing in Gaza, according to a new alert from the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), a UN-backed initiative. The report cites Israeli restrictions on food aid and continued fighting as key factors driving widespread starvation, malnutrition, and disease, leading to a rise in hunger-related deaths.

The IPC stated that evidence now shows the "worst-case scenario of famine is currently playing out in the Gaza Strip." While a formal famine declaration requires further analysis, the IPC said that two of the three required thresholds have already been met, including extreme food shortages and acute child malnutrition. The alert noted that one in three people in Gaza are going without food for days at a time, and hospitals have reported a rapid increase in hunger-related deaths among children under five, with at least 16 such deaths since mid-July.

Between April and mid-July, more than 20,000 children in Gaza were treated for acute malnutrition, with 3,000 classified as severely malnourished. The World Food Programme (WFP) and UNICEF reported that starvation-related deaths are becoming increasingly common, though collecting comprehensive data is challenging due to the collapse of Gaza's health system after nearly two years of conflict.

Cindy McCain, executive director of the WFP, said, > "The unbearable suffering of the people of Gaza is already clear for the world to see. Waiting for official confirmation of famine to provide life-saving food aid they desperately need is unconscionable."

The IPC report highlighted that Israeli restrictions have reduced food shipments to levels far below what is needed, with no food entering Gaza in March or April, and only partial shipments in May and June. Ross Smith, WFP emergency director, told reporters, > "This is unlike anything we have seen in this century. It reminds us of previous disasters in Ethiopia or Biafra in the past century. We need urgent action now."

Israel has denied limiting aid shipments, attributing food shortages to distribution failures by the UN and alleged diversion of aid by Hamas. The IPC works with aid groups, international organizations, and UN agencies to assess hunger levels in at-risk populations.