Opinion Famine in Gaza is an Israel-made tragedy

Declaration of famine by a UN agency is a rare event. In the 20-year history of the UN-backed Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), there have been only four: Somalia in 2011, South Sudan in 2017 and 2020, and Sudan in 2024. It was already framed by the stark visuals of emaciated children and reports of malnutrition and starvation deaths caused by Israel’s war, but Gaza has now made it to the list. “As this famine is entirely man-made, it can be halted and reversed,” says the IPC report published on August 22. For months, the IPC had held back from a formal declaration. In July, it warned that a “famine scenario” was unfolding in parts of Gaza, yet the conditions for a declaration had not been satisfied due to difficulties in gathering reliable data. Now that famine has been confirmed in the Gaza Governorate and is projected to spread, the emphasis on it being man-made underscores the horrific ground reality in a place where Israel’s bombing campaign has already killed more than 60,000 people.

The IPC declaration adds to the mounting international pressure on PM Benjamin Netanyahu in recent weeks. Yet, consistent with Israel’s past dismissal of global criticism, the government has rejected the report’s findings, with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs calling them “Hamas lies”. The IPC report, however, is not an isolated warning. Last month, a letter signed by 100-plus aid groups including Doctors Without Borders, Oxfam, and Amnesty International accused Israel of deliberately obstructing the flow of aid. Health officials in Gaza estimate that more than 200 have died because of hunger since the conflict began, while more than 1,300 Palestinians have reportedly been killed at aid distribution sites. The evidence is overwhelming, and Israel’s blanket rejection of every report as “Hamas propaganda” is unlikely to persuade the international community.

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But so far, global outrage is hardly acting as a deterrent. Over the weekend, planes and tanks pounded Gaza City as Israel expanded its war — ostensibly to destroy Hamas and rescue the remaining hostages. Even though the world’s attention remains fixed on Gaza, Israel announced last week the approval of 3,400 new settler homes in the occupied West Bank, a move condemned by 26 countries and the EU. Hamas has no presence in the West Bank, and Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention prohibits an occupying power from transferring its civilian population into occupied territory. Yet such legal obligations appear to do little to restrain the Netanyahu government. Nor have the announcements by France, the UK, Canada, and Australia that they will recognise a State of Palestine in September. The United States is the only power with leverage over Israel. But with Washington remaining silent on the famine declaration and even hinting at support for the settler plans, no end is in sight for this continuing tragedy.