Over half a million people in Gaza are now living under famine conditions, according to a new analysis from the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), marking the first official confirmation of famine in the Middle East. Widespread starvation, acute malnutrition, and preventable deaths are already devastating the population, and the situation is expected to spread from Gaza Governorate to Deir Al Balah and Khan Younis in the coming weeks.

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), UNICEF, the World Food Programme (WFP), and the World Health Organization (WHO) have repeatedly stressed the urgent need for an immediate ceasefire and unrestricted humanitarian access. Without these measures, hundreds of thousands of people, including children, the elderly, and those with disabilities, may not survive, especially as an intensified military offensive could worsen famine conditions in Gaza City.

By the end of September, over 640,000 residents are projected to face the most extreme levels of food insecurity - classified as IPC Phase 5 - while an additional 1.14 million people are expected to be in Emergency conditions (IPC Phase 4) and 396,000 in Crisis (IPC Phase 3). North Gaza is similarly affected, though data gaps make precise assessment difficult. Rafah was not analyzed due to near-total depopulation. Famine classification follows the breach of three critical thresholds: extreme food deprivation, acute malnutrition, and starvation-related deaths, all of which the current evidence confirms.

Years of conflict, repeated displacements, and severe limitations on humanitarian access have created a collapse in the territory’s food, water, and medical supply chains. Agricultural production has been destroyed, health and sanitation systems are failing, and markets have become largely inoperative. In July, households reporting severe hunger doubled compared to May, with 39 percent of people going days without food. Adults increasingly skip meals to feed children, worsening malnutrition across the population.

Child malnutrition is accelerating at unprecedented rates. In July alone, over 12,000 children were identified as acutely malnourished - the highest monthly figure recorded - and nearly one in four suffered from severe acute malnutrition (SAM). The number of children expected to face severe risk of death from malnutrition by June 2026 has tripled from 14,100 to 43,400. Pregnant and breastfeeding women are also critically affected, with an estimated 55,000 projected to suffer from extreme malnutrition by mid-2026, up from 17,000 in May. Infant health is heavily impacted, with one in five babies born underweight or prematurely.

Food and aid deliveries have slightly increased since July but remain far below the scale required. Approximately 98 percent of cropland is damaged or inaccessible, local food production is decimated, and nearly nine out of ten residents have been displaced at least once. Cash shortages, disrupted aid distribution, looted UN supply trucks, skyrocketing food prices, and lack of fuel and water for cooking exacerbate the crisis. The health system is on the brink, with rising multi-drug resistant infections, widespread diarrhoea, respiratory issues, and other preventable illnesses among children.

The UN agencies emphasized that only an immediate and sustained ceasefire can prevent further loss of life and allow mass humanitarian operations to reach those in need. Urgent delivery of food, fuel, medical supplies, shelter, and support for local food production is essential. Rehabilitation of the health system, restoration of essential services, and reopening of markets are also critical to preventing the famine from worsening.

FAO Director-General QU Dongyu stressed the urgent priority of safe, sustained access for large-scale food aid, emphasizing that access to food is a basic human right. WFP Executive Director Cindy McCain called for a surge of aid, safer conditions, and reliable distribution systems, noting that famine warnings had been clear for months. UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell highlighted the dire situation for children in Gaza Governorate and warned of the rapid spread of famine without immediate action. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus declared a ceasefire a moral imperative, underscoring that malnutrition is turning previously treatable illnesses into life-threatening conditions, and that hospitals require protection to continue saving lives.