According to Gaza’s health ministry, at least 281 people have died from starvation and malnutrition as of Saturday, 23 August, 2025, 114 of them children. File photo by WAFA from Gaza
CAIRO – 23 August 2025: Health authorities in Gaza reported on Saturday eight more deaths, two of them children, due to starvation and malnutrition, upping the total of hunger-related fatalities to 281, including 114 children.
Moreover, unrelenting Israeli strikes have killed a total of 62,622 people and injured 157,673 more, including 10,778 fatalities and 45,632 injuries since 18 March, when Israel shattered a ceasefire with Hamas and resumed the fighting.
The reports come after a UN-backed food security analysis released on Friday officially confirmed that famine is underway in Gaza, marking the first such declaration since the onset of the war.
According to the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) report, 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.”
Arab and European leaders have expressed alarm over the report, calling for urgent action.
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.
Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu quickly dismissed the report, describing it as “an outright lie.”
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