Breaking News: The United Nations has declared a famine in Gaza for the first time. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk stated,"The famine in Gaza is a direct result of the Israeli government's actions."

Breaking News: According to a report published on Friday by the United Nations (UN)-backed Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), there is a famine in Gaza.

"As of August 15, 2025, famine in Gaza City (level 5 of the IPC, known as the catastrophic level) was confirmed by reasonable evidence. After 22 months of brutal conflict, more than half a million people in the Gaza Strip face catastrophic conditions characterized by hunger, poverty, and death," the report stated.

The report also stated that this famine is expected to spread to the Gaza Strip.

"MALNUTRITION IS PROJECTED TO WORSE RAPIDLY"

In the Gaza Strip, around 1 million people, corresponding to 54 percent of the population, are reported to be experiencing hunger at level 4, known as an emergency, and 396,000 people are experiencing hunger at level 3, known as a crisis, according to the IPC scale.

The report included the following statements:

Conditions are expected to worsen further between mid-August and the end of September, with the famine spreading to Deir Balakh and Khan Younis.

Nearly a third of the population, 641,000 people, are expected to face hunger at IPC level 5, while the number of people experiencing hunger at level 4 is likely to rise to 1.14 million. Acute malnutrition is projected to continue to worsen rapidly.

The report said that at least 132,000 children under the age of five are expected to suffer from acute malnutrition in the Gaza Strip by June 2026.

"These figures are double the IPC estimates from May 2025. This number includes more than 41,000 severe cases with a high risk of death. Approximately 55,500 malnourished pregnant and breastfeeding women will also require urgent nutritional intervention," the IPC report stated.

Despite limited data, conditions in northern Gaza City are estimated to be as severe or worse than those in the centre.

"HUNGER IN GAZA IS A WAR CRIME"

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said in a written statement,"The famine declared by the IPC today is the direct result of the measures taken by the Israeli government. The government has unlawfully restricted the entry and distribution of humanitarian aid and other goods necessary for the survival of civilians in the Gaza Strip."

Turk, noting that deaths from hunger and malnutrition were witnessed throughout the Gaza Strip, said,"The Israeli army destroyed critical civilian infrastructure and almost all agricultural land, banned fishing, and forcibly displaced the population. All of these are the causes of the famine. Using hunger as a method of war is a war crime, and the resulting deaths can also be considered the war crime of premeditated murder."

Turk called on Israeli authorities to take immediate steps to end the famine in Gaza City and prevent further loss of life across the Gaza Strip.