‘New phase of hell’: World leaders react as UN-backed report confirms Gaza famine

CAIRO – 22 August 2025: A UN-backed food security analysis has officially confirmed that famine is underway in Gaza City, marking the first such declaration since the onset of the Israeli war.

According to the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) report released on Friday, more than 500,000 people are currently facing famine conditions, with the crisis expected to spread across other areas of the strip in the coming weeks.

By the end of September, the IPC projects that over 640,000 people will face "catastrophic" hunger (IPC Phase 5), while more than 1.1 million will experience emergency-level food insecurity (Phase 4).

Severe conditions are also reported in northern Gaza, though lack of access has hindered full assessment.

The report indicates that the three thresholds required to declare famine: extreme food deprivation, acute malnutrition, and starvation-related deaths, have been met in Gaza City, said UN agencies.

The report warns that without urgent humanitarian access, the crisis will continue to escalate.

 

‘Failure of Humanity’

UN Secretary-General António Guterres condemned this famine as a "man-made disaster" and a "failure of humanity," stressing Israel’s legal obligation as the occupying power to ensure the population’s access to food and medicine.

“People are starving. Children are dying. And those with the duty to act are failing,” Guterres stressed.

World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus echoed the call for an immediate ceasefire, warning that collapsing health systems and rising malnutrition have turned treatable illnesses into deadly threats, especially for children.

“The world has waited too long, watching tragic and unnecessary deaths mount from this man-made famine.”

World Urges Action

International leaders have reacted with alarm.

In response to the report, Saudi Arabia condemned “the genocidal crimes committed by the Israeli occupation’s army against defenseless civilians.”

The Kingdom urged the UN Security Council to intervene immediately, describing the situation as “a stain on the conscience of the global community.”

Residents gather to receive free food from a charitable kitchen in Gaza City - Photo: WAFA

The Gulf Cooperation Council also urged immediate international pressure on Israel to open crossings and facilitate humanitarian aid, calling the famine catastrophic and Israel’s actions inhumane and illegal.

Meanwhile, the Palestinian Authority said the IPC’s findings eliminated any room for denial, and accused Israel of systematically using starvation as a weapon of war.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described the report as “an outright lie.”

'New Phase of Hell'

The European Commission’s crisis chief, Hadja Lahbib, said “famine is no longer a risk in Gaza. It is a reality.”

She added that families endure days without food and children die from hunger and disease.

Governments across Europe voiced similar outrage.

UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy called the famine “utterly horrifying” and “wholly preventable,” blaming Israeli restrictions on aid.

He demanded that Israel allow the UN and humanitarian groups to operate freely.

Officials from Ireland, Denmark, Belgium, and Slovenia condemned the blockade of aid, warning that the famine was the direct result of political choices, not natural disaster.

Slovenia's Deputy Prime Minister Tanja Fajon described the famine as the “new phase of hell Gaza faces in this man-made catastrophe.”

Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin called the withholding of food and water from civilians as “collective punishment” and “a war crime.”

Belgium’s Foreign Minister Maxime Prévot described it as “a disgrace that in the 21st century, children are dying from hunger” due to aid blockage.

Starved to Death

Despite growing international condemnation, aid access remains severely limited, and humanitarian agencies continue to call for unimpeded entry to assess needs and deliver life-saving assistance.

Gaza’s health ministry reported on Friday that 273 people, 112 of them children, have died from starvation and malnutrition.

UN Human Rights Office spokesperson Thameen Al-Kheetan said that in recent weeks, Israeli authorities have permitted aid deliveries at levels “significantly below what is needed to prevent large-scale starvation.”