Global Food Insecurity Scale Was Eased in Order to Declare ‘Famine’ in Gaza

Latest Developments

IPC Threshold for Gaza Food Insecurity Lowered: The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) — a standardized scale for classifying food insecurity around the globe coordinated by UN agencies and nongovernmental organizations — quietly altered its methodology for determining famine in its recent report on the Gaza Strip, making it easier to reach the threshold of famine compared with other parts of the world. According to The Washington Free Beacon, these new standards were used in a July 29 IPC report concluding that the “ worst-case scenario of famine is rapidly unfolding in the Gaza Strip amid relentless conflict, displacements, and extremely limited humanitarian access.” The group added that “mounting evidence shows that widespread starvation, malnutrition, and disease are driving a rise in hunger-related deaths.”
Used Less Accurate Measurement: The IPC’s July determination included a metric that measured mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC), which had not previously been used to determine famine conditions. For previous reports, the organization took height and weight measurements instead — measurements that are more time-consuming than MUAC but more accurate. Using the MUAC measurement, the organization also reduced the threshold to declare famine from 30 percent of children suffering from acute malnutrition to 15 percent.
Hamas Purposely Inflating Malnutrition Death Numbers: The IDF’s Coordination of Government Affairs in the Territories (COGAT) unit released its own report on conditions in Gaza, in which it found that Hamas has been purposely inflating the death toll for malnutrition in an “orchestrated campaign as part of a broader effort to discredit the State of Israel and achieve political gains.” COGAT’s report found a gap between deaths attributed to malnutrition and documented cases with identifying details published in the media and on social networks. From the beginning of the war in Gaza in 2023 until June 2025, the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry reported only 66 deaths due to malnutrition, yet in July 2025, it reported more than 133 such deaths without releasing “the identities of the deceased as it had done in the past.” COGAT also claimed that its case-by-case analysis of the published deaths indicated “that most of those allegedly dying from malnutrition had preexisting medical conditions,” some of whom had even been treated in Israel before the war.

FDD Expert Response

“The IPC quietly changed its guidelines only for Gaza, hoping no one would notice before an unfounded famine declaration could be made. It’s not just a potential global fraud; it’s a grave undermining of the important guidelines and measurement standards upheld by aid groups in areas of need around the world.” — Richard Goldberg, Senior Advisor

“There was the revisionist interpretation of ‘apartheid’ to make it apply to Israel and Amnesty International bemoaning the ‘overly cramped’ definition of genocide, which wouldn’t apply to the Gaza war. Now, the NGOs and international agencies that compose the IPC have joined the fray by applying a new famine standard unique to Gaza. These groups seem more interested in vilifying Israel than in fighting these scourges, and in so doing, they undermine their credibility.” — David May, Research Manager and Senior Research Analyst