Experts have warned of the first-ever famine in the Middle East, with five million people facing ”catastrophic” starvation.
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The United Nations officially declared a famine in Gaza on Friday. Experts have warned of the first-ever famine in the Middle East, with five million people facing "catastrophic" starvation.
High-ranking UN officials have accused Israel of "planned obstruction" in the delivery of aid to the war-torn Palestinian territories. Israel's Foreign Ministry has said that the declaration of famine in and around Gaza City is "based on lies by Hamas through vested interests".
Famine was assessed by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification Initiative (IPC), a coalition of monitors tasked with warning of impending crises by the United Nations. It defines a famine as when 20 percent of households have an extreme shortage of food. In Gaza, 30 percent of children under the age of five are malnourished. At least two out of every 10,000 people die daily due to starvation or malnutrition and disease.
The United Nations bodies have said that the humanitarian situation in Gaza has been deteriorating for months after Israel stepped up its attacks against Hamas. The Rome-based IRPC said, "Famine (IPC stage 5) has been confirmed with reasonable evidence in the Gaza Strip as of August 15, 2025". The IPC has reported the worst drop in hunger since it began analyzing the situation, which it says is "entirely man-made." The change is due to a sharp increase in the number of people displaced, as well as severe restrictions on humanitarian and commercial supplies There is a serious shortage of food, medicine and fuel
