The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), which describes itself as a system aimed at enhancing food security and nutrition analysis to inform decisions, declared today that famine conditions exist in Gaza Governorate, an area of the Gaza Strip which includes Gaza City, and which lies between Deir al Balah and North Gaza. “After 22 months of relentless conflict, over half a million people in the Gaza Strip are facing catastrophic conditions characterized by starvation, destitution and death,” the IPC statement reports. “Another 1.07 million people (54%) are in Emergency (IPC Phase 4), and 396,000 people (20%) are in Crisis (IPC Phase 3).
“Between mid-August and the end of September 2025, conditions are expected to further worsen with Famine projected to expand to Deir al-Balah and Khan Younis,” the report continues. “Nearly a third of the population (641,000 people) are expected to face catastrophic conditions (IPC Phase 5), while those in Emergency (IPC Phase 4) will likely rise to 1.14 million (58%). Acute malnutrition is projected to continue worsening rapidly. Through June 2026, at least 132,000 children under five are expected to suffer from acute malnutrition—double the IPC estimates from May 2025. This includes over 41,000 severe cases of children at heightened risk of death. Nearly 55,500 malnourished pregnant and breastfeeding women will require urgent nutrition response.”
Going forward, the IPC makes recommendations for actions that must be taken if lives are to be saved: 1) Immediate and sustained cessation of hostilities; 2) Guarantee unconditional and safe humanitarian access; 3) Protect civilians and critical infrastructure; and 4) Restore commercial flows at scale, market systems, essential services, and local food production.
Predictably, Israeli authorities reacted to the IPC classification of famine in Gaza with rage, accusing the IPC of basing its calculations on Hamas propaganda.
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk charged in a statement on Aug. 22, issued shortly after the IPC report came out, that the famine declaration “is the direct result of actions taken by the Israeli Government. It has unlawfully restricted the entry and distribution of humanitarian assistance and other goods necessary for the survival of the civilian population in the Gaza Strip….
“It is a war crime to use starvation as a method of warfare, and the resulting deaths may also amount to the war crime of willful killing,” Türk said. “Israeli authorities must take immediate steps to end the famine in the Gaza Governorate and prevent further loss of life across the Gaza Strip. They must ensure immediate entry of humanitarian assistance in sufficient amounts, and full access to UN and other humanitarian organizations.”
