UN-backed body confirms famine in Gaza City for first time

Famine has been confirmed in Gaza City for the first time, a UN-backed body responsible for monitoring food security says.

Report informs via the BBC that the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) has raised its classification to Phase 5, the highest and worst level of its acute food insecurity scale.

It says famine is confirmed in the Gaza Governorate, which includes Gaza City and its surrounding area, with "catastrophic conditions" projected to expand to Deir al-Balah and Khan Younis by the end of September.

Malnutrition is projected to threaten the lives of more than 132,000 children under the age of five in Gaza by June of next year, the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) said.

The IPC—an international initiative involving UN agencies, humanitarian organizations, and governments—serves as the primary global framework for assessing famine conditions. In its 59-page assessment, the body called for an “immediate and large-scale response” to avert worsening conditions.

“Any further delay—even of just a few days—will result in a wholly unacceptable rise in famine-related deaths,” the report warned.

Israeli authorities, however, firmly rejected the findings. In a statement, Israel described the report as “false and biased.” The Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), the Israeli military body responsible for aid coordination, argued that the assessment was “based on partial, biased data and superficial information originating from Hamas.”