According to the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) platform, Gaza has reached two out of three critical famine thresholds. These thresholds indicate severe issues such as drastically reduced food consumption and alarming rates of acute malnutrition. Although famine has not been officially declared due to the absence of demonstrable deaths from malnutrition, evidence is mounting that widespread starvation, malnutrition, and disease are significantly increasing hunger-related fatalities. “It’s clearly a disaster unfolding in front of our eyes, in front of our television screens,” expressed Ross Smith, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) Director of Emergencies. “This is not a warning; this is a call to action. This is unlike anything we have seen in this century,” he emphasized during a press conference in Geneva.
In New York, UN Secretary-General António Guterres echoed these sentiments, stating that the current alert “confirms what we have feared,” indicating that Gaza is on the brink of famine. “The facts are in – and they are undeniable,” he asserted. “Palestinians in Gaza are enduring a humanitarian catastrophe of epic proportions. This is not a warning. It is a reality unfolding before our eyes.”
The context surrounding this alarming alert is grim: the IPC reports that one in three individuals is now going without food for days at a time. Hospitals are overwhelmed, treating over 20,000 children for acute malnutrition since April. Tragically, at least 16 children under five have succumbed to hunger-related causes since mid-July. The IPC's analysis in May 2025 projected catastrophic levels of food insecurity for the entire population by September. Experts anticipate that at least half a million people will fall into IPC Phase 5 – categorized as catastrophe, marked by starvation, destitution, and death.
This escalating crisis has been exacerbated by nearly two years of conflict ignited by Hamas-led terror attacks in Israel in October 2023, resulting in approximately 1,250 fatalities and around 450 individuals taken hostage. Heavy fighting has claimed thousands of lives and devastated 70 percent of Gaza’s infrastructure. The IPC assessment underscored that displacement is rampant, with safe areas now comprising less than 12 percent of the territory.
Gaza, home to around 2.1 million people, has seen a staggering 90 percent of its population displaced, often multiple times. Since the ceasefire ended on March 18, more than 762,500 displacements have been recorded. Meanwhile, humanitarian access remains critically restricted, with aid convoys frequently obstructed or looted. On Sunday, Israel announced the initiation of daily humanitarian pauses in Gaza, allowing over 100 trucks of aid to enter. However, the UN continues to stress the necessity of flooding Gaza with food, fuel, and medicine. “The trickle of aid must become an ocean,” Guterres insisted. “This nightmare must end,” he urged, calling for the best efforts from all parties involved.
In alignment with international calls to end the war, the IPC platform advocates for an unconditional and immediate ceasefire, unimpeded humanitarian access, and the restoration of essential services. The report warns that widespread death is imminent without urgent intervention. Food security experts also called for the protection of civilians, humanitarian personnel, and critical infrastructure, including health, water, sanitation, roads, and telecommunications networks. It’s important to note that IPC alerts highlight urgent food security and nutrition crises but do not constitute an official famine classification. A new analysis focused on Gaza is currently underway, with results to be published soon.
Famine is officially confirmed when all three core thresholds are breached: plummeting food consumption, acute malnutrition, and starvation-related deaths. However, gathering robust data on acute malnutrition and related deaths has proven extremely difficult due to the collapse of health systems, as explained by UN agencies WFP and the UN Children’s Fund.
Reports indicate that around 60,000 Gazans have lost their lives since the onset of the conflict in October 2023. “In Gaza, women and girls are facing the impossible choice of starving to death at their shelters or venturing out in search of food and water at extreme risk of being killed,” stated Sofia Calltorp, Director of UN Women in Geneva. Calltorp reiterated the call for unrestricted humanitarian access for all women and girls, the release of all hostages, and an immediate ceasefire. She expressed hopes that the upcoming high-level International Conference for the Peaceful Settlement of the Question of Palestine would mark a turning point toward a viable two-state solution, allowing Israelis and Palestinians to coexist peacefully.
In response to questions about the effectiveness of air-dropped aid missions that have just commenced in Gaza, WFP’s Smith described them as a “last resort where there are no other logistics or transport options.” He added that air-drops are “far too expensive and inefficient,” carrying “extreme risks” for populations living in overcrowded conditions, especially after reports of injuries to at least 11 Gazans during such operations. UN aid agencies continue to emphasize the necessity for full access across Gaza to reach vulnerable populations, beyond the Israeli military’s announced weeklong humanitarian pauses.
“We welcome these humanitarian pauses, and we would like to see the full spirit of them implemented all along, right down to the distribution points, so we can move quickly and effectively,” stated Smith. “Until issues regarding delays and approvals, as well as interactions with armed forces and civilians on the ground, are improved, we won't see the significant changes needed to alleviate the humanitarian situation inside Gaza.”
