The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, a tool associated with some 25 global partners, including United Nations agencies, said on Friday that it confirmed with "reasonable evidence" that there has been "famine" in Gaza since Aug. 15.
"After 22 months of relentless conflict, over half a million people in the Gaza Strip are facing catastrophic conditions characterized by starvation, destitution and death," per a new IPC report.
"Between mid-August and the end of September 2025, conditions are expected to further worsen with famine projected to expand to Deir al-Balah and Khan Younis," it stated.
The Israeli government stated that "although the IPC has previously confirmed famine in other crises, this was the first time such a declaration was made for Gaza and the first time it rested on evidence that fell far short of the standard normally required."
"Famine classifications are intended to be exceptional, applied only when mortality and malnutrition rates clearly and indisputably exceed the most extreme benchmarks," it stated.
The Jewish state said that the "famine" determination contradicts recent, publicly available data and uses "outdated figures while downplaying or disregarding newer information that directly undermined the famine classification."
The Israeli Foreign Ministry stated that the IPC "bent its own rules to fit Hamas' campaign. They lowered famine thresholds, ignored criteria and laundered Hamas lies."
"Meanwhile, reality tells a different story: Over 100,000 aid trucks have entered Gaza since the war began. Markets are stocked, food prices are falling," it said. "The IPC could not find famine, so they forged one."
"You know who is starving? The hostages kidnapped and tortured by uncivilized Hamas savages," stated Mike Huckabee, the U.S. ambassador to Israel. "Maybe the over-fed terrorists could share some of their warehouse full they stole with hungry people, especially the hostages."
António Guterres, the U.N. secretary-general, stated that there were "no more excuses," and an "immediate ceasefire, the immediate release of all hostages, and full, unfettered humanitarian access" were necessary.
"Just when it seems there are no words left to describe the living hell in Gaza, a new one has been added: 'famine,'" he stated. "This is not a mystery. It is a man-made disaster, a moral indictment, and a failure of humanity itself."
The IPC report is based on data from July 1 to Aug. 15 and states that the threshold to determine a "famine" has been met despite a lack of mortality figures available.
"Assessment of mortality in the Gaza Strip is constrained by the collapse of health and civil registration systems, severe restrictions of humanitarian access, and the protracted conditions of the war," per the report. "In the absence of face-to-face household surveys and a functioning vital registration system, the Famine Review Committee has reviewed and triangulated available sources."
Among those sources listed in the report is data from the Gaza health ministry, which Hamas controls. (The word "Hamas" doesn't appear anywhere in the IPC report.)
The Israeli Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories also refuted the report.
"Instead of providing a professional, neutral and responsible assessment, the report adopts a biased approach riddled with severe methodological flaws, thereby undermining its credibility and the trust the international community is able to place in it," stated Maj. Gen. Ghassan Alian, the COGAT head.
"We expect the international community to act responsibly and not be swept away by false narratives and unfounded propaganda but rather to examine the complete data and the facts on the ground," Alian said.
Several independent metrics have shown food prices dropping in Gaza in recent weeks, as more aid has entered the Strip.
Some agencies of the United Nations have claimed in the past that there has been "famine" in Gaza, while others have stated that there is no evidence of such a phenomenon. A spokesman for the U.N. secretary-general suggested the discrepancy was due to a lack of "brand management."
This JNS.org report was republished with permission from Jewish News Syndicate.