Famine Confirmed in Gaza as UN Warns of Escalating Starvation Crisis

New Delhi, August 29, 2025: More than 640,000 people in Gaza are now facing catastrophic levels of food insecurity, as famine conditions are officially confirmed in Gaza Governorate, according to a new Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) report released today. UN agencies warn the crisis is rapidly spreading southward, threatening hundreds of thousands more in Deir al-Balah and Khan Younis.

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), UNICEF, World Food Programme (WFP), and World Health Organization (WHO) issued a joint alert, emphasizing the urgent need for a full-scale humanitarian response and an immediate ceasefire to halt mass starvation and prevent further loss of life.

“Famine is now a grim reality for children in Gaza,” said UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell, describing severe malnutrition and widespread starvation as a man-made disaster. Over 12,000 children were found acutely malnourished in July alone, a six-fold increase since January. Nearly one in four are suffering from severe acute malnutrition, the deadliest form.

Since the last IPC analysis in May, the number of children at risk of dying from malnutrition by mid-2026 has tripled to 43,400, while 55,000 pregnant and breastfeeding women are expected to face critical levels of malnutrition.

The report confirms that all three famine criteria extreme food deprivation, acute malnutrition, and starvation-related deaths have been met. Conditions in North Gaza are believed to be equally dire, but data collection remains blocked due to lack of access. Rafah, now largely depopulated, was not analyzed.

Gaza’s food systems have collapsed, with 98% of cropland damaged or inaccessible, food prices skyrocketing, and widespread looting of aid trucks. Nine in ten people have been displaced, and more than one-third report going days without food. Humanitarian access remains severely restricted.

Health systems are overwhelmed, with soaring rates of multi-drug resistant infections, diarrhoea, fever, and other preventable diseases. Malnourished children are especially vulnerable. UN leaders are calling for urgent access to food, water, medical aid, and fuel, restoration of commercial flows, and protection for health facilities.