Israel Rebukes Gaza Famine Designation by Multi-Agency Global Body

Latest Developments

IPC Declares Famine in Gaza Governorate: The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), a global consortium that assesses food insecurity, announced on August 22 its determination that the Gaza Governorate region of the coastal strip, which includes the densely populated Gaza City, is now experiencing a famine. The report cited “reasonable evidence” but not “solid evidence” that since August 15, the area has met the IPC’s three main criteria for the declaration of famine, affecting an estimated 514,000 people. The IPC identified the “complete halt in humanitarian and commercial food deliveries in March and April, followed by critically low volumes through July, coupled with the collapse of local food production” as the causes of the ongoing crisis, warning that famine conditions would reach the Deir al-Balah and Khan Yunis governorates farther south by the end of September. The consortium also said that conditions in the North Gaza Governorate are as bad or worse than in the famine-afflicted Gaza Governorate, yet “limited data” prevented a formal assessment of famine there.

Israel Rejects Findings: The Israeli Foreign Ministry categorically rejected the claims made by the IPC, calling the data “tailor-made to fit Hamas’s fake campaign.” In response to the report, Israel’s unit for the Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) asserted that the IPC “disregard[ed] Israel’s extensive humanitarian efforts and ignore[d] Hamas’ deliberate obstruction and exploitation of aid.” COGAT highlighted that 4,400 calories per person per day in food aid had entered Gaza since August 1. In addition to the 132 million meals distributed by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation to date, over 90 Gaza-based operational community kitchens are producing a total of 600,000 meals per day for hungry civilians, COGAT said. The Israeli government also published a detailed critique of the IPC’s data and methodology, asserting that the consortium bent its own rules on data quality and deliberately ignored data that called into question reported levels of child malnutrition. If lower, those levels would not justify a famine declaration.

Hamas Welcomes IPC Report: Hamas welcomed the findings of the IPC, calling the report a “damning international testimony” of a “crime committed by the Zionist occupation.” Meanwhile, COGAT stated that since May, over 10,000 humanitarian trucks, 5,000 tons of baby food, 2,500 tons of medical equipment, and 2,300 airdropped food packages had entered the coastal enclave. Looting by armed groups and other actors has continued to plague the distribution process once the aid enters Gaza. UN statistics show that over the same period, 4,107 out of 4,938 aid trucks, or 83 percent, were hijacked before they reached their destinations.

FDD Expert Response

“Assessments of possible famine entail complicated analyses of multiple data sets. One has to take time and carefully study the data before reaching a firm conclusion about the validity of claims that a famine is underway. In 2024, the IPC spent months warning of an ‘imminent famine’ in Gaza that never materialized. Undoubtedly, there is hunger in the coastal enclave of a kind that few in the West ever endure. Still, it remains critical to distinguish between a highly distressing situation and the widespread death by starvation associated with an actual famine — something that has not yet materialized in Gaza. Greater transparency on the part of the IPC could address the Israeli government’s concerns that the IPC’s work strayed from best practices. — David Adesnik, Vice President of Research

“For Hamas, the IPC report is a political windfall, arriving at a moment when Israel is threatening a significant offensive against Gaza City. The Islamist group and its backers will leverage the report to intensify international pressure on Israel to halt its offensive and sign a ceasefire deal that ensures Hamas’s continued rule. Yet one critical reality will likely remain obscured: Hamas bears primary responsibility for Gaza’s current conditions. It grossly miscalculated the consequences of the October 7 massacre, has prolonged the war to preserve its rule, and continues to prioritize its grip on power over the welfare of the Palestinian people.” — Joe Truzman, Senior Research Analyst and Editor at FDD’s Long War Journal