Famine officially declared in Gaza City
On 22 August 2025, the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) officially declared a famine in Gaza City.This is the first such designation in the Middle East. Currently, an estimated 514,000 people – nearly one quarter of Gaza’s population – are experiencing famine-level conditions. Projections indicate that this figure could rise to 640,000 by the end of September.
This confirmation of famine in Gaza brings shame on the entire world. Every day our team there sees more people starving to death and children turning into living skeletons before our eyes. Many more will die unless the world acts now.
Read our response to famine in Gaza here.
Starvation or gunfire: This is NOT a humanitarian response
Since October 2023, Israel has killed more than 62,192 Palestinians, including at least 18,430 children and 12,058 women. More than 154,906 people have been injured, and thousands more remain missing under the rubble.
July 2025 was one of the deadliest months of this genocide, with one person killed or injured every three minutes, and an average of 28 children killed every day (UNICEF) .
Those battling to survive this onslaught live in sheer terror, and without access to even the most basic human rights. By completely blocking the entry of humanitarian aid since 2 March 2025, Israel has been deploying forced starvation as yet another killing tactic.
The 400 aid distribution points operating during the temporary ceasefire across Gaza have now been replaced by just four military-controlled distribution sites, forcing two million people into overcrowded, militarised zones where they face daily gunfire and mass casualties while trying to access food and are denied other life-saving supplies.
Palestinians in Gaza face an impossible choice: starve or risk being shot while trying desperately to reach food to feed their families. The months following the launch of the Israeli distribution scheme have been some of the deadliest and most violent since October 2023. Israeli forces and armed groups – some reportedly operating with backing from Israeli authorities – now routinely open fire on desperate civilians risking everything just to survive.
Hundreds of people have been killed while trying to get food from militarised operations.
