UN Declares Gaza Facing “Catastrophic” Famine

The United Nations has confirmed that Gaza City and surrounding areas are facing famine conditions, describing the situation as a “man-made disaster” and a “failure of humanity.”

The announcement follows a report by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), a UN-backed body that monitors global hunger. The IPC raised parts of Gaza to Phase 5, the highest level of food insecurity, indicating widespread starvation, destitution, and death. More than half a million people are now experiencing “catastrophic” conditions, and almost a third of the population, nearly 641,000 people, is expected to face Phase 5 conditions between mid-August and the end of September. Another 1.14 million people, or 58% of Gaza’s population, are projected to be in Phase 4 “emergency” conditions.

The famine is predicted to worsen, extending across the Gaza Strip to Deir al-Balah and Khan Younis, with malnutrition threatening the lives of 132,000 children under five by June 2026. Since the start of the war, Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry reported 271 deaths from malnutrition, including 112 children.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called the crisis “not a mystery” but a deliberate human-made catastrophe. “It is a moral indictment, and a failure of humanity itself,” he said.