LONDON/GENEVA – The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), the global authority on hunger crises backed by the UN and major aid agencies, has issued an urgent alert declaring that the “worst-case scenario of famine” is now unfolding in the Gaza Strip due to ongoing conflict, siege, and aid blockade.
The alert states that famine thresholds have been breached for both food consumption across Gaza and acute malnutrition in Gaza City. Experts warn that mounting evidence of starvation, disease, and hunger-related fatalities show famine is not just possible—it is already happening.
Alarming Figures & Projections
Over 60 days of closed humanitarian corridors since early March have left Gazans without critical food or aid. Strategic aid deliveries have fallen far short of the 62,000 metric tonnes per month needed.
Projections for May–September 2025 show 470,000 people (22% of the population) facing catastrophic hunger (IPC Phase 5), with the entire population experiencing at least Crisis or worse (IPC Phase 3+).
During April–May, roughly 93% of Gaza’s approximately 2.1 million residents were in IPC Phase 3 or higher: 244,000 in Phase 5, and 925,000 in Phase 4, up from 12% in Phase 5 in late 2024.
Children & Mothers: Humanitarian Collapse
UNICEF and WFP estimate 71,000 children aged 6–59 months and over 17,000 mothers will require immediate treatment for acute malnutrition in the coming months, with acute malnutrition reaching “critical” (Phase 4) in many areas.
Worse still, child hunger-related deaths have surged. At least 147 people—88 children—are reported to have died from malnutrition in July, with many more facing starvation for days at a time.
Conservation Collapse & Aid Access Blocked
Agriculture and food-supply systems are in ruins. Before October 2023, 42% of Gaza’s land supported farming. Now, 75% of crop fields and orchards are destroyed, and over two-thirds of irrigation wells are non-functional .
Livestock numbers have tanked—sheep at 36% of previous levels, goats 39%, cattle just 3.8%—with vital feed and veterinary services blocked. FAO warns that continued blockade of inputs will devastate public health and local food production .
Urgent Calls for Action
The IPC and UN agencies have issued a unified call for:
- An immediate, sustained ceasefire.
- Full restoration of unimpeded humanitarian access by land and aid routes.
- Protection of civilians, aid workers, and humanitarian infrastructure.
- Restoration of commercial supply chains and agricultural support to rebuild livelihoods.
The World Food Programme has demanded Gaza be “flooded with large‑scale food aid” to stave off mass starvation and “prevent widespread death,” drawing parallels to historic famines in Ethiopia and Biafra.
