UN Declares Famine in Gaza, First Official Famine in Middle East History

The United Nations has officially declared a famine in Gaza, marking the first time such a designation has been made in the Middle East. According to UN officials, more than 500,000 people are facing “catastrophic” levels of hunger, with conditions expected to worsen in the coming weeks.

“This is a famine: the Gaza famine,” said Tom Fletcher, the UN’s emergency relief coordinator, on Friday. He directly accused Israel of “systematic obstruction” of humanitarian aid deliveries to the territory, which has been devastated by nearly two years of war.

Israel rejected the UN’s assessment, with the country’s foreign ministry dismissing the declaration as being “based on Hamas lies laundered through organisations with vested interests.” The ministry insisted that “there is no famine in Gaza.”

The declaration was made following an assessment by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification Initiative (IPC), a coalition tasked by the UN with identifying and monitoring food crises. The IPC defines famine as occurring when:

• at least 20% of households face an extreme lack of food,
• 30% of children under five are acutely malnourished,
• and at least two in every 10,000 people die daily from starvation or malnutrition-related disease.

The IPC’s latest report confirmed that “as of 15 August 2025, famine (IPC Phase 5) — with reasonable evidence — is present in Gaza governorate,” which includes Gaza City and surrounding areas, home to nearly one million people.

“After 22 months of relentless conflict, over half a million people in the Gaza Strip are facing catastrophic conditions characterised by starvation, destitution and death,” the report said. It further warned that famine is projected to spread into Deir el-Balah and Khan Yunis governorates by the end of September, potentially engulfing more than three-quarters of Gaza’s total population — nearly 641,000 people.

The UN and humanitarian agencies have repeatedly warned for months of worsening food shortages in Gaza, but this official designation represents the most severe escalation of the crisis so far. The IPC noted it is “the first time a famine has been officially confirmed in the Middle East region.”