'Worst-case scenario' of famine unfolding in Gaza, watchdog warns as war death toll crosses 60,000
The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) issued an alert over the rise in hunger-related deaths in the enclave, saying that access to food and other essential items has plummeted to unprecedented levels.
"Famine thresholds have been reached for food consumption in most of the Gaza Strip," the IPC said in a report.
"Immediate action must be taken to allow for unimpeded, large-scale, life-saving humanitarian response. This is the only path to stopping further deaths and catastrophic human suffering," it added.
The IPC's alert over the dire situation in Gaza has been echoed by other humanitarian organisations.
On Tuesday, David Miliband, President of the International Rescue Committee (IRC), issued a "stark warning" over deteriorating conditions in the strip.
'The images, testimonies, and statistics from Gaza leave no room for doubt... what we are witnessing is a man-made catastrophe unfolding in real time," wrote Mr Miliband in a statement.
"Children in Gaza are not just hungry; they are starving to death... In the coming days, thousands of Gaza's children will either be rescued — or allowed to die. That is the choice before us," he continued.
The UN's World Food Programme also warned on Tuesday that the disaster unfolding in Gaza was "unlike anything we have seen in this century".
Faced with mounting international alarm over the situation, Israel said at the weekend its military would observe "tactical pauses" to facilitate the delivery of food to Gaza.
However, the WFP says none of the supplies entering Gaza were able to reach the agency's warehouses, from where they are sent out for distribution.
"We have not had any trucks make it to the warehouse on July 27; yesterday - July 28 - nothing went through," a WFP official told The National. "All trucks that went out on July 27 were offloaded en route. We believe it is hungry civilians [who are] desperate and do not trust the system and that they will be able to get anything through distributions."
On Monday, US President Donald Trump admitted for the first time that children in Gaza are suffering "real starvation", amid mounting international criticism of Israel's actions in the strip.
"That's real starvation stuff, I see it, and you can't fake that,' Mr Trump said. 'We have to get the kids fed."
His statement came after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu denied that starvation is happening in the Palestinian territory.
'There is no policy of starvation in Gaza and there is no starvation in Gaza,' he claimed in a speech.
The IPC defines famine as a situation in which "at least one in five households have an extreme lack of food and face starvation and destitution, resulting in extremely critical levels of acute malnutrition and death". Its assessments are a critical tool used by the international community to identify and tackle famine conditions worldwide.
In an analysis published in May, the IPC had projected that the entire population in the Gaza Strip would face high levels of acute food insecurity by September, including half a million people in catastrophe levels, characterised by an extreme lack of food, starvation, destitution and death. A risk of famine was detected in all areas of the Gaza Strip.
Since then, Israeli aerial bombardment and ground operations have intensified, making people's access to food across Gaza "alarmingly erratic and extremely perilous", the IPC said.
Between May and July, the proportion of households experiencing extreme hunger has doubled. One in three individuals have been going without food for days at a time, it said in its report.
More than 3,000 children are severely malnourished in Gaza. Hospitals have reported a rapid increase in hunger-related deaths of children under five years old, with at least 16 reported deaths since July 17, according to IPC figures.
The hunger watchdog has also criticised the food distribution mechanism of the US and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF).
It said distribution sites are located in militarised zones where less than a quarter of the population is located, forcing Palestinians to embark on long, high-risk journeys to collect food items that are not ready-to-eat and require water and fuel to cook, which are largely unavailable.
Since late May, more than 1,000 people have been killed while trying to access food in Gaza, the majority of them near GHF aid sites, according to the IPC and UN figures.
Israel says it is committed to allowing in aid but must control it to prevent it from being stolen by Hamas, as a justifoication for launching the GHF's operations. An internal US government analysis found no evidence of systematic theft by Hamas of US-provided humanitarian supplies, challenging Israel's claims.
On Sunday, Israel declared a 'tactical' pause in military operations in parts of Gaza and promised to open secure routes for aid. It claimed that more than 120 lorry loads of food aid were distributed by the UN and aid agencies in Gaza. However, UN agencies did not confirm the amount of aid, while residents reported supplies being taken from trucks before reaching warehouses.
The International Rescue Committee has warned that limited 'tactical pauses', air drops and other symbolic gestures are "dangerously inadequate in the face of Gaza's accelerating hunger crisis".
"With child deaths from malnutrition surging and famine conditions prevalent, to be meaningful, any halt in fighting must end Israel's near-total blockade and allow sustained, large-scale aid and commercial supplies through safe land routes. Fuel, food, clean water and electricity must reach all areas of Gaza — brief pauses won't cut it," the IRC said.
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Middle East Eye
an hour ago
- Middle East Eye
Does Trump care about the issue of Palestinian statehood?
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The National
an hour ago
- The National
Witkoff visits Gaza aid site as US draws up new plan
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French President Emmanuel Macron announced last week that his country, a heavyweight in the EU, plans to recognise a Palestinian state, becoming the first major western nation to do so. Britain and Canada have since said they could also do so. Israel's refusal to end the war in Gaza and its aid policy in the Palestinian territory have made it more isolated than ever. Mr Witkoff's visit follows the imposition of US sanctions on members of the Palestinian Authority and the Palestine Liberation Organisation. Washington accused the PA and PLO of 'continuing to support terrorism', supporting international legal cases against Israel and 'undermining prospects for peace', the US State Department said on Thursday. Palestinian officials told The National the sanctions were punishment for seeking an end to Israel's occupation and the establishment of a Palestinian state.
Middle East Eye
4 hours ago
- Middle East Eye
Why are people protesting against the Boston Consulting Group?
In San Francisco, Boston, Dallas and other cities around the country, protesters have marched and chanted outside the offices of the Boston Consulting Group (BCG). The demonstrators were demanding accountability for BCG's role in creating a deadly new aid distribution system backed by the US and Israel that a United Nations official described as using starvation as a bargaining chip. Founded in 1961 and headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, BCG is one of the most prominent consulting firms in the United States and advises clients on a large number of topics, including security and humanitarian issues. BCG is one of the world's three largest management consulting firms by revenue and is no stranger to controversy. It has been reported to have worked with Isabel dos Santos, who was accused of exploiting Angola's natural resources. It is also reported to have been one of the firm's "critical" in helping Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman consolidate his grip on power in the kingdom. New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters Middle East Eye examines the BCG's role in Gaza's humanitarian crisis and efforts to hold the consulting firm accountable. Collaboration with Gaza Humanitarian Foundation Between October 2024 and May 2025, BCG helped establish the controversial US- and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF). The GHF began to invite increased scrutiny in early June as evidence of massacres at GHF aid sites emerged, prompting BCG to cancel its contracts with GHF and describe their previous cooperation as 'unapproved'. 'Two former partners initiated this work, even though the lead partner was categorically told not to. This work was not a BCG project. It was orchestrated and run secretly outside any BCG scope or approvals. We fully disavow this work. BCG was not paid for any of this work,' BCG wrote on their website. But a Financial Times (FT) investigation revealed that BCG's cooperation with the GHF was extensive and discussed with senior BCG figures, while the Washington Post's reporting showed that BCG was filing monthly invoices of over $1m a month. The FT investigation found that BCG was originally contacted by Orbis, an American security company working on behalf of an Israeli think tank, to do a feasibility study for a new Gaza aid operation. Senior partners at BCG 'step down over Gaza humanitarian controversy' Read More » BCG then helped create Safe Reach Solutions (SRS), a mercenary firm that would provide security at aid sites, along with GHF. At one point, SRS reportedly chastised a contractor under its command for refusing to shoot Palestinian children. GHF's executive director resigned hours before GHF's public launch in May, claiming it was impossible to implement GHF's Gaza aid plan 'while also strictly adhering to humanitarian principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality and independence'. UN aid chief Tom Fletcher also criticised the GHF, describing it as 'a fig leaf for further violence and displacement'. BCG planned to bill GHF around $4m for work that included developing financial models of what the UN described as 'ethnic cleansing' in Gaza. The model included 'voluntary relocation', where Palestinians in Gaza would have been given $5,000, rent subsidies for four years and subsidised food for a year. The model predicted that a quarter of the population would leave, and three-fourths of them would never return, according to FT. As Israeli air strikes indiscriminately kill Palestinians and children starve to death under Israel's suffocating siege, such an offer could hardly be considered voluntary and was widely condemned by rights groups. Why is the GHF controversial? Set up to bypass UN aid distribution networks that have been in place for decades, but that Israel alleges are now linked to Hamas, GHF sites have proven deadly for Palestinians seeking aid. Israeli soldiers have admitted to deliberately killing unarmed Palestinian aid seekers at GHF distribution sites, with one Israeli soldier describing the aid centres as 'killing fields'. Over a thousand Palestinian aid-seekers have been killed, mostly at GHF sites, since May, according to the UN. Yet as malnutrition spreads across Gaza, hungry Palestinians have little choice but to brave Israeli bullets to search for aid. Israel alleges that violence at the aid sites is necessary to stop the aid from being stolen by Hamas. However, an internal US review examined 156 instances of stolen or lost aid and found no evidence that Hamas was stealing it. Rather, Israel directly or indirectly caused the loss or theft of aid in 44 instances, according to the findings. Meanwhile, Israel has admitted that it supports anti-Hamas gangs notorious for stealing aid. How other aid organisations reacted to BCG On 13 June, Save the Children International became the first charity to pause cooperation with BCG over its role in the GHF. Save the Children CEO Inger Ashing said BCG's modelling of a plan for the forced displacement of Palestinians in Gaza 'disregards fundamental rights and dignity, and raises serious ethical and legal questions' - and that Save the Children would suspend work with BCG pending the outcome of an external investigation. Several days later, BCG's chief risk officer and the leader of its social-impact practice resigned from their roles. Yet despite the international outcry against GHF, some humanitarian aid organisations have been hesitant to cut ties with GHF. Although the World Food Programme told The New Humanitarian that it planned to review its ties with BCG, other humanitarian aid organisations, including some that decried the GHF, did not indicate that they were considering ending their relationship with BCG. What protests have there been against BCG? Some protesters have found BCG, with dozens of locations across the US, an accessible target to protest against the killing of aid seekers in Gaza. On 25 July, demonstrators banged pots and pans outside BCG's headquarters in the Seaport district of Boston. GHF chief attacks UN and media, avoids saying 'Palestinians' when referring to Gaza Read More » A security guard at the building seriously injured one protester when he pushed the protester into a metal pole, breaking several ribs. 'Very quickly, a security guard ran from within the building without me noticing him, and slammed into me and pushed me away from the door with all his strength,' the protester, who asked to remain anonymous, told Middle East Eye. Multiple witnesses corroborated the account, and the protester was later taken by ambulance to a hospital with a trauma centre. On 25 July, at least a dozen protesters were arrested when demonstrators staged a sit-in at a BCG facility in Dallas. Protesters also demonstrated outside a BCG office in Dallas on Thursday. On the west coast of the United States, the Palestinian Youth Movement (PYM) organised protests outside of BCG's offices in San Francisco and San Diego. 'The time to act is now! The genocide in Gaza had reached a critical moment with thousands facing starvation due to the brutal siege on the strip… we will make ourselves heard,' a statement from the San Diego chapter of PYM said.
