Svälten i Gaza fortsätter! -leker med maten

Famine was officially confirmed in the Gaza Strip on August 22, 2025, by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), marking the first time this threshold has been met in the Middle East region. The declaration indicated that 641,000 people in the Gaza Governorate were experiencing catastrophic hunger (IPC Phase 5), characterized by widespread starvation, destitution, and preventable deaths.

The famine was driven by an Israeli blockade during the Gaza war, which prevented essential food and humanitarian aid from entering the territory, alongside airstrikes that destroyed local food infrastructure such as bakeries and mills. UN agencies including the FAO, UNICEF, WFP, and WHO described the crisis as a "man-made disaster" and called for an immediate ceasefire and unhindered humanitarian access to halt further mortality.

While the IPC analysis projected the famine would spread to other governorates like Deir Al Balah and Khan Younis, a subsequent report in December 2025 confirmed that no areas of the Strip were currently classified in famine following an October ceasefire and improved aid access. However, UN agencies warned that the gains were fragile, with 1.6 million people (77% of the population) still facing high levels of acute food insecurity and hundreds of thousands at risk of slipping back into famine without sustained support.

What is Famine?

The IPC defines Famine (IPC Phase 5) as a situation in which widespread starvation and destitution, acute malnutrition, and deaths are occurring concurrently. More specifically:

20% of households in an area face an extreme lack of food and a near complete collapse of their livelihoods and depletion of their assets. (These definitions refer strictly to the observed conditions and do not imply causality, intent, or alignment with any legal denitions.)
At least 30% of children under five suffer from acute malnutrition measured by Weight-for-Height (WHZ) and/or bilateral oedema, or approximately 15% of children under five suffer from acute malnutrition measured by Mid-Upper Arm Circumference (MUAC), and/or bilateral oedema.
There are more than two non-trauma deaths among adults per 10,000 people per day, or four or more deaths per 10,000 children under five per day.