UN Geneva - Multimedia Newsroom : Widespread starvation in Gaza

In Gaza, mounting evidence of famine and widespread starvation

Aid agencies echoed wider warnings of growing signs of widespread starvation in Gaza on Tuesday, as UN-partnered international food security experts released their most dire assessment yet of the situation in the wartorn enclave.

“What we're seeing is mounting evidence that a famine is there; all the signals are there,” said Jean-Martin Bauer, Director of Food Security and Nutrition Analysis at the UN World Food Programme (WFP).

Underscoring the seriousness of the latest assessment from the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) platform, Ross Smith, WFP Director of Emergencies insisted that “this is unlike anything we have seen in this century, it reminds us of previous disasters in Ethiopia or Biafra in the past century. And it's clear we need urgent action now, so this is definitely not a warning, this is a call for action.”

Both WFP speakers insisted that the only way to provide support inside Gaza is with humanitarian assistance, because markets “are not functioning at all and people are not able to provide for themselves”.

“The data that we have on Gaza shows that when there is access or when the trucks do come in, that when the humanitarians are able to carry out distributions, these food security indicators improve dramatically,” insisted Mr. Bauer.

According to the IPC experts, two out of three famine thresholds have been reached in Gaza: plummeting food consumption and acute malnutrition.

There is mounting evidence that “widespread starvation, malnutrition and disease” are driving a rise in hunger-related deaths, which is the third famine indicator.

The context to the alert is stark: one in three people is now going without food for days at a time, the IPC said. Hospitals are also overwhelmed and have treated more than 20,000 children for acute malnutrition since April. At least 16 children under five have died from hunger-related causes since mid-July.

The alert follows a May 2025 IPC analysis that projected catastrophic levels of food insecurity for the entire population of Gaza by September. According to the platform’s experts, at least half a million people are expected to be in IPC Phase 5 – catastrophe – which is marked by starvation, destitution, and death.

Reports indicated on Tuesday that 60,000 Gazans have been killed since Hamas-led terror attacks in Israel sparked the war in October 2023.

“In Gaza, women and girls are facing the impossible choice of starving to death at their shelters or venturing out in search of food and water at extreme risk of being killed,” said Sofia Calltorp, Director of UN Women in Geneva.

Ms. Calltorp also reiterated UN Women’s demand for unrestricted access to humanitarian assistance for all women and girls, the release of all hostages and an immediate ceasefire.

“We also echo the hopes that this week's high level International Conference for the Peaceful Settlement of the Question of Palestine is a turning point, leading to a viable two-State solution, with Israel and Palestine living side by side in peace and security,” she added, referring to the French and Saudi Arabian-led initiative at the UN in New York to push for a peaceful future for Israelis and Palestinians.

Asked about the effectiveness of air-dropped aid missions that have just begun in Gaza, WFP’s Mr. Smith described it as “a last resort where there are no other logistics or transport options”.

Air-drops are also “far too expensive and inefficient”, carrying “extreme risks” for populations living in overcrowded conditions, he continued, amid reports of injuries to at least 11 Gazans on Sunday.

UN aid agencies have insisted on the need for full access across Gaza to reach vulnerable populations, over and above the Israeli military’s announcement of weeklong humanitarian pauses from 10am to 8pm.

“We welcome these humanitarian pauses, and we would like to see the full spirit of them implemented all along, right down to the distribution points, so that we can move quickly and effectively,” said Mr. Smith. “Until those different delays and approvals clearances, the interaction with armed forces and civilians on the ground - until that is improved - we're not going to see that sufficient enough change to turn the dial on humanitarian situation inside Gaza.”

ends

Widespread starvation in Gaza – IPC, UN Women 29 July 2025

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