GENEVA, August 22. /TASS/. The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), a UN-supported mechanism for monitoring food security, has officially described the food security situation in the northern Gaza region as famine for the first time, according to a report.
"As of August 15, 2025, famine (IPC Phase 5) - with reasonable evidence - is confirmed in Gaza Governorate," the document said. According to IPC estimates, more than 500,000 people in the Gaza Strip are currently facing catastrophic conditions characterized by starvation, destitution, and death. The report also states that more than a million residents of the Palestinian enclave – 54% of the population – are experiencing an emergency food situation (IPC Phase 4) and that approximately 396,000 people – 20% of the population – are experiencing a crisis food situation (IPC Phase 3).
IPC experts say that by the end of September, "[famine] conditions are expected to further worsen, with famine projected to expand to Deir al-Balah and Khan Yunis" in the central and southern parts of the enclave. According to the food security classification, it is expected that almost a third of Gaza's population – about 641,000 people – will be experiencing catastrophic conditions (IPC Phase 5) by that time.
Earlier on Friday, UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Tom Fletcher called on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to cease hostilities in the Gaza Strip and allow humanitarian organizations to resume delivering food and aid in sufficient quantities.
Previously, the Gaza Strip’s press service reported that only about 2,000 trucks carrying humanitarian aid had entered the enclave over the past three and a half weeks. This is less than 15% of the supplies needed by the local population. According to the press service, at least 15,000 vehicles carrying humanitarian supplies were expected to arrive in Gaza over the past 25 days, but only 2,187 trucks were allowed into the enclave.
Tensions flared up again in the Middle East on October 7, 2023, when Hamas militants staged a surprise attack on Israeli territory from Gaza, killing residents of Israeli border settlements and taking over 250 hostages, including women, children and the elderly. Hamas described its attack as retaliation for the aggressive actions taken by Israeli authorities against the Al-Aqsa Mosque on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem’s Old City. In response, Israel declared a total blockade of the Gaza Strip, home to 2.3 million Palestinians before the crisis, launching air strikes on Gaza as well as some parts of Lebanon and Syria before starting a ground operation in the Palestinian enclave. According to the latest data from the Gaza Health Ministry, more than 62,000 Palestinians have been killed in the enclave as a result of the fighting, over 157,000 have been injured, and an additional 270 Gazans, including 112 children, have died of starvation.