Impakter
  • Environment
    • Biodiversity
    • Climate Change
    • Circular Economy
    • Energy
  • FINANCE
    • ESG News
    • Sustainable Finance
    • Business
  • TECH
    • Start-up
    • AI & Machine Learning
    • Green Tech
  • Industry News
    • Entertainment
    • Food and Agriculture
    • Health
    • Politics & Foreign Affairs
    • Philanthropy
    • Science
    • Sport
  • Editorial Series
    • SDGs Series
    • Shape Your Future
    • Sustainable Cities
      • Copenhagen
      • San Francisco
      • Seattle
      • Sydney
  • About us
    • Company
    • Team
    • Partners
    • Write for Impakter
    • Contact Us
    • Privacy Policy
No Result
View All Result
Impakter logo
No Result
View All Result
famine in gaz

11 December 2024. Khan Younis, Gaza Strip. A view shows destroyed agricultural greenhouses and equipment.

Famine Confirmed for First Time in Gaza

FAO, UNICEF, WFP and WHO reiterate call for immediate ceasefire and unhindered humanitarian access to curb deaths from hunger and malnutrition

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)byThe Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
August 23, 2025
in Society
0

More than half a million people in Gaza are trapped in famine, marked by widespread starvation, destitution and preventable deaths, according to a new Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) analysis released yesterday. Famine conditions are projected to spread from Gaza Governorate to Deir Al Balah and Khan Younis Governorates in the coming weeks.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), UNICEF, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), and the World Health Organization (WHO) have collectively and consistently highlighted the extreme urgency for an immediate and full-scale humanitarian response given the escalating hunger-related deaths, rapidly worsening levels of acute malnutrition and plummeting levels of food consumption, with hundreds of thousands of people going days without anything to eat.

The agencies reinforced that famine must be stopped at all costs. An immediate ceasefire and end to the conflict is critical to allow unimpeded, large-scale humanitarian response that can save lives. The agencies are also gravely concerned about the threat of an intensified military offensive in Gaza City and any escalation in the conflict, as it would have further devastating consequences for civilians where famine conditions already exist. Many people — especially sick and malnourished children, older people and people with disabilities — may be unable to evacuate.

By the end of September, more than 640,000 people will face Catastrophic levels of food insecurity — classified as IPC Phase 5 — across the Gaza Strip. An additional 1.14 million people in the territory will be in Emergency (IPC Phase 4) and a further 396,000 people in Crisis (IPC Phase 3) conditions. Conditions in North Gaza are estimated to be as severe — or worse — than in Gaza City. However, limited data prevented an IPC classification, highlighting the urgent need for access to assess and assist. Rafah was not analyzed given indications that it is largely depopulated.

Classifying famine means that the most extreme category is triggered when three critical thresholds — extreme food deprivation, acute malnutrition, and starvation-related deaths — have been breached. The latest analysis now affirms, on the basis of reasonable evidence, that these criteria have been met.

Almost two years of conflict, repeated displacement, and severe restrictions on humanitarian access, compounded by repeated interruptions and impediments to access to food, water, medical aid, support to agriculture, livestock and fisheries and the collapse of health, sanitation, and market systems, have pushed people into starvation.

Access to food in Gaza remains severely constrained. In July, the number of households reporting very severe hunger doubled across the territory compared to May and more than tripled in Gaza City. More than one in three people (39%) indicated they were going days at a time without eating, and adults regularly skip meals to feed their children.

Malnutrition among children in Gaza is accelerating at a catastrophic pace. In July alone, more than 12,000 children were identified as acutely malnourished — the highest monthly figure ever recorded and a six-fold increase since the start of the year. Nearly one in four of these children were suffering from severe acute malnutrition (SAM), the deadliest form with both short and long-term impacts.

Since the last IPC Analysis in May, the number of children expected to be at severe risk of death from malnutrition by the end of June 2026 has tripled from 14,100 to 43,400. Similarly, for pregnant and breastfeeding women, the number of estimated cases has tripled from 17,000 in May to 55,000 women expected to be suffering from perilous levels of malnutrition by mid-2026. The impact is visible: one in five babies are born prematurely or underweight.

The new assessment reports the most severe deterioration since the IPC began analyzing acute food insecurity and acute malnutrition in the Gaza Strip, and it marks the first time a famine has been officially confirmed in the Middle East region.

Since July, food and aid supplies entering Gaza increased slightly but remained vastly insufficient, inconsistent and inaccessible compared to the need.


Related Articles: Gaza War Deaths: The Story Behind the Numbers | The War Zone in Gaza Will Leave a Legacy of Hidden Health Risks | Gaza’s Invisible Massacre: Aid Workers Killed in Record Numbers | Gaza War: From Extreme Violence To Human Kindness

Meanwhile, approximately 98% of cropland in the territory is damaged or inaccessible — decimating the agriculture sector and local food production — and nine of ten people have been serially displaced from homes. Cash is critically scarce, aid operations remain severely disrupted, with most UN trucks looted amid growing desperation. Food prices are extremely high and there is not enough fuel and water to cook and medicines and medical supplies.

Gaza’s health system has severely deteriorated, access to safe drinking water and sanitation services has been drastically reduced, while multi-drug resistant infections are surging and levels of morbidity — including diarrhoea, fever, acute respiratory and skin infections — are alarmingly high among children.

To enable lifesaving humanitarian operations, the U.N. agencies emphasized the importance of an immediate and sustained ceasefire to stop the killing, allow for the safe release of hostages and permit unimpeded access for a mass influx of assistance to reach people across Gaza. They stressed the urgent need for greater amounts of food aid, along with dramatically improved delivery, distribution and accessibility, as well as shelter, fuel, cooking gas and food production inputs.

They emphasized that it is critical to support the rehabilitation of the health system, maintain and revive essential health services, including primary health care, and ensure sustained delivery of health supplies into and across Gaza. The restoration of commercial flows at scale, market systems, essential services, and local food production is also vital if the worst outcomes of the famine are to be avoided.

“People in Gaza have exhausted every possible means of survival. Hunger and malnutrition are claiming lives every day, and the destruction of cropland, livestock, greenhouses, fishery and food production systems has made the situation even more dire,” said FAO Director-General QU Dongyu. “Our priority must now be safe and sustained access for large-scale food assistance. Access to food is not a privilege — it is a basic human right.”

“A ceasefire is an absolute and moral imperative now,” said WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. “The world has waited too long, watching tragic and unnecessary deaths mount from this man-made famine. Widespread malnutrition means that even common and usually mild diseases like diarrhoea are becoming fatal, especially for children. The health system, run by hungry and exhausted health workers, cannot cope. Gaza must be urgently supplied with food and medicines to save lives and begin the process of reversing malnutrition. Hospitals must be protected so that they can continue treating patients. Aid blockages must end, and peace must be restored, so that healing can begin.”

** **

This article was originally published by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and is republished here as part of our editorial collaboration with the FAO. 


Editor’s Note: The opinions expressed here by the authors are their own, not those of Impakter.com — In the Cover Photo: Destroyed agricultural greenhouses and equipment, Khan Younis, Gaza Strip, Dec. 11, 2024. Cover Photo Credit: FAO.

Tags: acute malnutritionceasefirefamineFAOfood deprivationGazaUNUNICEFWFPWHO
Previous Post

Toward Global Instability and Autocracy? A Critical Examination of the Trump Regime’s Global Impact

Next Post

South Korea Strengthens Shareholder Rights with New Governance Law

Related Posts

Crowds and filmmakers on the red carpet at the 76th Berlin International Film Festival in 2026
Cinema

At Berlinale 2026, Artists Refuse the Comfort of Neutrality

The controversy at this year’s Berlinale crystallised early when jury president Wim Wenders, responding to press questions about Gaza, suggested...

byEve Rogers
February 20, 2026
Trump’s Board of Peace Can Provide a New Opportunity for the United Nations
Politics & Foreign Affairs

Trump’s Board of Peace Can Provide a New Opportunity for the United Nations

While President Trump has frequently criticized the United Nations (UN), the planned February 19 initial meeting of his Board of...

byA. Edward Elmendorf - Former U.S. Mission to the UN Diplomat, UN Secretariat Staff Member, and President and CEO of UN Association of USA
February 18, 2026
Board of Peace
Editors' Picks

Trump’s Board of Peace Explained: Mandate, Power, and Global Implications

Gaza has endured huge human and physical damage. Whatever your view may be as to the underlying causes, the reality...

byA. Edward Elmendorf - Former U.S. Mission to the UN Diplomat, UN Secretariat Staff Member, and President and CEO of UN Association of USA
February 13, 2026
The Era of ‘Global Water Bankruptcy’ Has Begun
Climate Change

The Era of ‘Global Water Bankruptcy’ Has Begun

Humanity’s long-term water usage and damage have exceeded nature's renewal and safe limits, a situation scientists and the media have...

byNmesoma Ezetu
February 10, 2026
ESG News regarding Guterres’s view on environment, Germany’s new grid law proposal, Companies having to protect nature for own survival, and TotalEnergies deal with Google
Business

‘We Must Move Past GDP,’ Says UN Chief

Today’s ESG Updates UN Secretary-General's View on Environment: António Guterres has called upon diplomats and policymakers to abandon the pursuit...

byFedor Sukhoi
February 10, 2026
World Health Organization
Editors' Picks

Why America’s Withdrawal From the WHO Is Bad News for Everyone

The United States was formally withdrawn from the World Health Organization (WHO) by President Donald J. Trump on January 22,...

byDr. Bruce Kaplan - Epidemiologist formerly at the CDC/EIS and USDA-FSIS Office of Public Health and Science & Co-Founder of the One Health Initiative
February 5, 2026
Why Glyphosate, the World’s Most Widely Used and Sued Herbicide, Is Under New Scrutiny
Business

Why Glyphosate, the World’s Most Widely Used and Sued Herbicide, Is Under New Scrutiny

Glyphosate, the active ingredient in "Roundup," is applied on millions of acres of farmland worldwide. Its use has triggered a...

byRichard Seifman - Former World Bank Senior Health Advisor and U.S. Senior Foreign Service Officer
January 16, 2026
soil
Biodiversity

To Prevent Ecological Collapse, We Must Start With the Soil

Soil is the single most biodiverse habitat on Earth, home to at least 59% of all species, including over 80%...

byMarcela Quintero - Associate Director General of Research Strategy and Innovation at the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIATand1 others
January 15, 2026
Next Post
South Korea Strengthens Shareholder Rights with New Governance Law

South Korea Strengthens Shareholder Rights with New Governance Law

Recent News

A woman going through the checking account guide

How Checking Accounts Work: Simple Steps to Get Started Fast

February 20, 2026
Coal plants get reprieve on mercury limits, Striking unions fail to halt Milei's sweeping labor bill, Sweden's regulator reviews Swedbank's compliance controls, France backs INEOS decarbonization with €300M

Trump Admin Weakens Coal Plant Mercury Regulations

February 20, 2026
Crowds and filmmakers on the red carpet at the 76th Berlin International Film Festival in 2026

At Berlinale 2026, Artists Refuse the Comfort of Neutrality

February 20, 2026
  • ESG News
  • Sustainable Finance
  • Business

© 2025 Impakter.com owned by Klimado GmbH

No Result
View All Result
  • Environment
    • Biodiversity
    • Climate Change
    • Circular Economy
    • Energy
  • FINANCE
    • ESG News
    • Sustainable Finance
    • Business
  • TECH
    • Start-up
    • AI & Machine Learning
    • Green Tech
  • Industry News
    • Entertainment
    • Food and Agriculture
    • Health
    • Politics & Foreign Affairs
    • Philanthropy
    • Science
    • Sport
  • Editorial Series
    • SDGs Series
    • Shape Your Future
    • Sustainable Cities
      • Copenhagen
      • San Francisco
      • Seattle
      • Sydney
  • About us
    • Company
    • Team
    • Partners
    • Write for Impakter
    • Contact Us
    • Privacy Policy

© 2025 Impakter.com owned by Klimado GmbH