Updated July 29, 2025 at 5:52 PM CDT
A United Nations-affiliated organization that tracks food security worldwide has issued a dire alert confirming that a "worst-case" famine scenario is unfolding across the Gaza Strip.
"Latest data indicates that famine thresholds have been reached for food consumption in most of the Gaza Strip and for acute malnutrition in Gaza City," the report says. "Immediate, unimpeded" humanitarian access into Gaza is the only way to stop rapidly rising "starvation and death."
The new findings from the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), based on data up to July 25, reveal escalating conflict, widespread displacement and an unprecedented collapse in access to food and essential services across the Palestinian territory, but falls short of a formal famine declaration.
The findings help underscore mounting evidence of widespread starvation, severe malnutrition and a tragic rise in hunger-related deaths among the 2.1 million civilians, almost two years since the Hamas attacks on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, prompted a full-scale Israeli military invasion of Gaza.
The IPC, a global initiative that provides food security analysis for charities and U.N. agencies, said famine thresholds have been reached for food consumption in most areas of the Gaza Strip, and for acute malnutrition specifically in Gaza City.
The report said that more than 20,000 children have been admitted for acute malnutrition treatment between April and mid-July, with more than 3,000 of them severely malnourished. Hospitals have also reported a surge in hunger-related deaths among children under 5, with at least 16 fatalities recorded since July 17 alone.
Crisis intensified by conflict and displacement
The IPC said the situation stems from intensified bombardments and expanded ground operations by Israeli forces against the remnants of Hamas, the militant and political group that runs Gaza and which is designated a terrorist organization by the United States and several other governments. The conflict has triggered massive displacement, with 325,000 Palestinians in Gaza displaced since mid-May, according to the IPC report. Around 88% of the territory is now under Israeli military evacuation orders or located in militarized zones, leaving civilians with little safe refuge, with many of those areas severely overcrowded.
Since the last IPC analysis in May, nearly 6,700 people have been killed in the conflict, with further critical infrastructure destroyed, alongside new Israeli military incursions into areas of Gaza, like Deir al Baleh, where many international aid groups have maintained their operational headquarters.
Access to food has become increasingly dangerous too, with more than 1,000 people killed since May 27 while attempting to access food, many near militarized distribution sites overseen by the U.S.- and Israeli-supported Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, according to Gaza's Health Ministry.
The foundation has disputed that the killings happen near its sites and says it has distributed more than 89 million meals, primarily in militarized zones along the Khan Younis–Rafah border.
However, aid experts have repeatedly warned that most of the group's distributed food items are not ready-to-eat and require water and fuel for cooking — resources that are largely unavailable. Reaching distribution points involves long, high-risk journeys, and the first-come, first-served approach often excludes the most vulnerable populations.
Despite a partial easing of Israel's blockade on the territory in mid-May, only a trickle of assistance has entered Gaza. Bakeries remain closed, and community kitchens, though operational, are vastly insufficient to meet overwhelming needs.
Collapsing food systems
Food consumption in Gaza has sharply deteriorated, the IPC found, with 1 in 3 people going without food for days. Between May and July, the proportion of households experiencing extreme hunger has doubled, surpassing the threshold for famine in most areas. In northern Gaza, 81% of households reported poor food consumption in July, up from 33% in April. Nearly 9 out of 10 households resort to extremely severe coping mechanisms, including taking significant safety risks to obtain food and scavenging from garbage.
More broadly, acute malnutrition rates are surging across Gaza. In Gaza City, acute malnutrition prevalence soared from 4.4% in May to 16.5% in early July, reaching the threshold for famine. Similarly large increases occurred in Gaza's second-largest city, Khan Younis, as well as Deir al-Balah (70% increase). Two-fifths of pregnant and breastfeeding women were deemed acutely malnourished in June.
Local food production has collapsed due to conflict damage and a reinstated fishing ban since July 12. Markets are failing due to severe stock shortages and weeks without commercial food entry. Wheat flour prices have increased between 1,400% and 5,600% compared to late February.
Urgent call for action
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed on Sunday "there is no starvation in Gaza." But in a break with the Israeli leader, President Trump said Monday he wasn't so sure. "I don't know. I mean, based on television, I would say not particularly, because those children look very hungry." Trump added that the U.S. is sending "a lot of money and a lot of food," and noted that other countries are starting to contribute as well.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who met and discussed the situation with Trump on Monday, called back his Cabinet ministers from summer recess for an emergency meeting on plans for Gaza peace and aid. Starmer announced that his country would recognize Palestinian statehood before the U.N. General Assembly in September unless Israel met certain conditions including agreeing to a ceasefire with Hamas in Gaza and allowing the U.N. to fully resume distributing aid there.
Asked Tuesday morning about starvation in Gaza after the IPC alert, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar told reporters, "The reality is the opposite." He said Israel is working hard to get humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip.
But the IPC report states that immediate changes to aid distribution are needed to alleviate catastrophic suffering. This includes scaling up goods flow, restoring basic services and ensuring safe, unimpeded access for life-saving assistance. Crucially, the report says, none of these interventions will be possible without an immediate, unconditional and sustained ceasefire.
U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres said in a statement that the IPC alert "confirms what we have feared: Gaza is on the brink of famine."
"This nightmare must end," Guterres said. "We need an immediate and permanent humanitarian ceasefire; the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages; and full, unfettered humanitarian access across Gaza."
Following international criticism over the continued Israeli restrictions on aid that have worsened food shortages, Israel said this week it would pause military activity for 10 hours a day until further notice in several areas to let aid in. The areas include Gaza City, Deir al-Balah and a coastal region called Mawasi, where thousands of Palestinians are camping in tents.
But Israeli authorities accuse Hamas of creating the chaotic scenes around food distribution sites, and said the U.N. agencies have also not done enough to distribute supplies. The U.N. has repeatedly said that the Israeli military has failed to make distribution routes through Gaza safe enough for its convoys and personnel.
Willem Marx reported from London. NPR's Emily Feng contributed reporting from Tel Aviv, Israel.
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