UN declares famine in Gaza, first ever in Middle East; Netanyahu rejects 'outright lie': What we know so far

Palestinians shove to receive a hot meal at a charity kitchen in the Mawasi area of Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip on July 22, 2025.

The United Nations on Friday officially declared a famine in Gaza, the first time it has done so in the Middle East, with experts warning 500,000 people face "catastrophic" hunger.

"It is a famine: the Gaza famine," said Tom Fletcher, the UN's emergency relief coordinator. He blamed Israel, accusing it of "systematic obstruction" of aid deliveries to the war-ravaged Palestinian territory.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu slammed the UN-backed declaration, calling the report "an outright lie".

"The IPC report is an outright lie," Netanyahu said in a statement released by his office, referring to the Rome-based Integrated Food Security Phase Classification Initiative.

He added that "Israel does not have a policy of starvation", citing the delivery of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip during the war.

The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) said famine is already underway in the northern Gaza governorate, home to hundreds of thousands of Palestinians, and could spread to central and southern regions within weeks.

The report estimates that more than half a million people in Gaza are already living in famine conditions marked by starvation and death. Another 1.07 million are facing emergency levels of hunger, while almost 400,000 remain in crisis. The IPC said this is the sharpest deterioration it has ever recorded in Gaza and the first time famine has been officially declared in the territory.

A man-made disaster

The IPC described the famine as a preventable catastrophe caused by the collapse of food and health systems. It warned that without a ceasefire and immediate restoration of food, medical and sanitation services, deaths will rise exponentially. The organisation stressed that famine “must be stopped at all costs” and that further delays, even by days, could be fatal.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned the situation as a “man-made disaster” and “a moral indictment,” saying Israel has obligations under international law to allow food and medical supplies into Gaza. He urged urgent action, declaring that “the time for action is not tomorrow – it is now.”

Children and mothers at risk

The crisis has left children and mothers in particular danger. By mid-2026, the IPC predicts at least 132,000 children under five could suffer life-threatening malnutrition, with more than 40,000 at immediate risk of death. Around 55,500 pregnant and breastfeeding women are also expected to need urgent nutrition support.

Gaza’s health ministry, with figures verified by the World Health Organization, reported a sharp increase in deaths from starvation. In just the first 20 days of August, 133 people died, including 25 children, compared with 89 over the previous 22 months.