By Palestine Chronicle Staff
Israel has continued to use starvation of civilians as a weapon of war against Palestinians in Gaza. (Photo: SOCIAL MEDIA, via QNN)
Conditions are expected to worsen between mid-August and the end of September 2025, with famine projected to expand to Deir al-Balah and Khan Yunis.
Famine has been confirmed in Gaza City and its surrounding areas for the first time, with UN Secretary-General António Guterres calling it “a man-made disaster” and “a failure of humanity itself.”
According to the latest results of the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) analysis, famine (IPC Phase 5), “with reasonable evidence,” is confirmed in Gaza Governorate, as of August 15.
Over half a million people in the Gaza Strip “are facing catastrophic conditions characterized by starvation, destitution and death,” the global hunger monitor warned.
Expected to Expand
Another 1.07 million people (54 percent) are in Emergency (IPC Phase 4), and 396,000 people (20 percent) are in Crisis (IPC Phase 3).
Conditions are expected to worsen between mid-August and the end of September 2025, with famine projected to expand to Deir al-Balah and Khan Yunis.
Nearly a third of the population (641,000 people) is expected to face catastrophic conditions (IPC Phase 5), while those in Emergency (IPC Phase 4) will likely rise to 1.14 million (58 percent).
Acute Malnutrition
In addition, acute malnutrition is projected to continue worsening rapidly, the monitor warned.
“Through June 2026, at least 132,000 children under five are expected to suffer from acute malnutrition—double the IPC estimates from May 2025,” it stated. This includes over 41,000 severe cases of children at heightened risk of death. Nearly 55,500 malnourished pregnant and breastfeeding women will also require an urgent nutrition response.
The monitor said that despite limited data, conditions in North Gaza Governorate “are estimated to be as severe—or worse—than in Gaza Governorate.”
‘Moral Indictment’ – Guterres
“Just when it seems there are no words left to describe the living hell in Gaza, a new one has been added: ‘famine’,” Guterres said in a statement on X. “This is not a mystery — it is a man-made disaster, a moral indictment and a failure of humanity itself.”
Since March, Israel has restricted the entry of vital humanitarian aid into Gaza, exacerbating an already-catastrophic situation. A total of 271 Palestinians, including 112 children, have died due to famine and malnutrition in the enclave since October 2023, according to the Health Ministry’s latest figures on Thursday.
Guterres said famine “is not only about food; it is the deliberate collapse of the systems needed for human survival.”
He added, “As the occupying power, Israel has unequivocal obligations under international law — including the duty of ensuring food and medical supplies of the population.”
Calling for an immediate ceasefire, the UN chief emphasized, “We cannot allow this situation to continue with impunity. No more excuses. The time for action is not tomorrow — it is now.”
‘Promoted by Israeli Leaders’
Tom Fletcher, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, said at a press briefing on Friday that the Gaza famine “is a famine that we could have prevented, if we had been allowed. Yet food stacks up at borders because of systematic obstruction by Israel.”
He added, “It is a famine within a few hundred metres of food, in a fertile land. It is a famine that hits the most vulnerable first. Each with a name, each with a story. That strips people of dignity before it strips them of life. That forces a parent to choose which child to feed. That forces people to risk their lives to seek food.”
Fletcher emphasized that the UN “repeatedly warned of” a famine, adding “But that the international media has not been allowed in to cover. To bear witness.”
“It is a famine in 2025. A 21st century famine watched over by drones and the most advanced military technology in history.It is a famine openly promoted by some Israeli leaders as a weapon of war. It is a famine on all of our watch. Everyone owns this. The Gaza Famine is the world’s famine. It is a famine that asks ‘but what did you do?’ A famine that will and must haunt us all,” he stressed.
‘Starvation as Tool of War’ – Hamas
The Palestinian Resistance movement Hamas said the declaration of famine “is a stain on the occupation and its supporters, and necessitates immediate action to stop the war and open the crossings.”
“This is a confirmation of the scale of the humanitarian catastrophe our people are exposed to due to the continuous Israeli aggression, which uses the policy of starvation as a tool of war and extermination against civilians, in flagrant violation of international humanitarian law and all international norms and conventions,” the movement said in a statement.
Hamas said it affirmed the importance of the UN announcement “even though it came very late after many months of warnings and suffering that our people endured under systematic siege and starvation.”
“We have repeatedly warned that the policies of siege and systematic starvation, and the prevention of food, medicine, and water from our people, constitute a full-fledged crime of genocide,” the movement stated.
Today, UN reports “have come to confirm to the entire world the scale of the humanitarian catastrophe our people are experiencing,” it added.
Call for Immediate Action
Hamas called for immediate action from the United Nations and the Security Council “to stop the war and lift the siege.”
The movement also demanded the opening of all border crossings without restrictions to allow the urgent and continuous entry of food, medicine, water, and fuel.
Hamas also emphasized that Israel should be held legally accountable “for using starvation as a weapon of war, as it constitutes a war crime and a crime of genocide under international law.”
The movement called “on Arab and Islamic countries and the free people of the world” to take immediate action and pressure Israel in this regard.
Starting on October 7, 2023, the Israeli military, with American support, launched a genocidal war against the people of Gaza. This campaign has so far resulted in the deaths of more than 62,000 Palestinians, with more than 157,000 wounded. The vast majority of the population has been displaced, and the destruction of infrastructure is unprecedented since World War II. Thousands of people are still missing.
(The Palestine Chronicle)
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