Famine Confirmed: Israel Starves Gaza in Unprecedented Act of Collective Punishment
The United Nations has now officially confirmed what the world has long known: Israel is starving Gaza. Famine (IPC Phase 5) has been declared in Gaza Governorate, and is projected to engulf Deir al-Balah and Khan Younis within weeks. This is not a natural disaster but a deliberate, man-made atrocity.
Nearly 2 million Palestinians—every single person analysed—is now in acute food insecurity. Of these, 640,000 people face Catastrophic (IPC Phase 5) conditions, while 1.14 million are in Emergency (IPC Phase 4). At least 132,000 children under five are acutely malnourished, including 41,000 in severe, life-threatening condition, and 55,500 pregnant and breastfeeding women are in desperate need of nutrition support.
This famine did not arrive overnight. It has been engineered through the complete halt of food deliveries in March and April, the destruction of Gaza’s farmlands and fishing industry, the bombardment of bakeries and food warehouses, and the systematic interception of 87% of UN aid trucks. Wheat prices have risen 3,400% since February. People are scavenging among rubble, risking their lives for aid; at least 1,800 have been killed seeking food.
Over 62,000 Palestinians have already been killed in this war, and famine is now compounding mass displacement. 800,000 people forced from their homes since March, most with nowhere safe to go. The International Court of Justice has already ruled that Israel’s actions amount to violations of international law. Now, famine itself has become a weapon: a means to forcibly displace a people, to erase them from their land.
Famine has been confirmed in Gaza, but it is not new. It has been unfolding in plain sight. Israel’s strategy of starvation is now official, documented by the UN, and it is being used to terrorise and expel an entire population. These are not isolated atrocities; this is a system designed to destroy Palestinian life. We are watching genocide enacted through hunger.
Every day of international hesitation enables this crime. Food is being used as a weapon of war, and children are paying with their lives. Governments that continue to supply arms, intelligence, and political cover are complicit in this unfolding famine.
Notes to editor
Representatives from the organisation are available for an interview.
For more information, contact Jake Marais, Communications and Advocacy Coordinator for Action For Humanity at jacob.marais@actionforhumanity.org or +447597 486 270.
Action For Humanity provides aid and assistance to people affected by natural and man-made disasters. We are the parent charity of Syria Relief, the UK’s largest Syria-focused humanitarian aid organisation. As an NGO we are guided by our drive to help others, not profit. Based in Manchester, Action For Humanity has operations in Syria, Yemen, and Gaza, among others. We have operated in Gaza since 2021, and since the escalation in violence in October 2023, we have supported well over 160,000 people.
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