Category World News

Famine is currently occurring in Gaza City and its surrounding area, according to a global hunger monitor supported by the UN.

The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IFSPC) had previously warned that Gaza was in danger of famine, but now it is clear that the recent events, including a new Israeli offensive, more displacement, and weeks of total Israeli blockade of the territory, have made famine a reality in Gaza.

If nothing is done to stop Israel’s war and increase humanitarian aid, the IPC experts warn that famine will spread to other parts of Gaza. Let’s examine this more closely.

What were the report’s main conclusions?

The main finding is that Gaza is now experiencing famine. More than 500, 000 people in the Gaza Strip are currently “catastrophic conditions,” according to the IPC, which is the highest level in its food insecurity classification and is “characterized by starvation, destitution, and death.”

The IPC found that 30% of the population is in dire straits, with 50% of those in Gaza City being in “emergency” mode. North Gaza governorate’s conditions are reportedly “as severe – or worse” than those in Gaza, but the IPC is unable to categorize the region based on incomplete information.

By the end of September, the IPC anticipates that the governorates of Deir el-Balah and Khan Younis will also experience famine. According to the IPC, 25 and 20 percent of the population in those governorates, respectively, are already classified as being in a level 5 catastrophe.

Additionally, it anticipates that 132, 000 children between the ages of five and six will be affected by acute malnutrition before June of next year, as well as 55, 000 pregnant and breastfeeding women and 25, 000 infants who require urgent nutrition assistance.

The IPC did not examine Rafah, Gaza’s southernmost governorate, because it has largely lost Palestinian residents as a result of Israeli military operations.

How did the IPC arrive at the conclusion that Gaza is experiencing a famine?

The worst category of food insecurity is “catastrophe,” according to the IPC’s five-stage food insecurity classification. When “households experience an extreme lack of food and/or are unable to meet other basic needs even after using coping techniques to their fullest,” a catastrophe is defined as a “catastrophe.”

“Starvation, death, destitution, and extremely critical acute malnutrition are evident” in a level 5 catastrophe.

However, this is distinct from a famine classification. There must be clear evidence that two of the three thresholds for acute malnutrition, malnutrition, and mortality have been met in order for a “famine with reasonable evidence,” as it currently has been in Gaza. The thresholds are for at least 20% of households to “have an extreme lack of food and face starvation and destitution,” for at least 30% of children under the age of five to be affected by acute malnutrition, and for at least two deaths per 10,000 per day as a result of food insecurity.

What is the IPC’s claim that Gaza is in a state of famine?

Conflict, displacement, restricted access, and the collapse of the food system are the four factors the IPC claims are “man-made.”

More than 62, 000 Palestinians have been killed by Israel’s conflict in Gaza in the 22 months since its start. The IPC points out that in July, there were 119 fatalities on average per day, nearly twice the previous month’s average.

The IPC reports that 1.9 million people have been displaced more than once since the start of the war as a result of Israel’s continued offensives. The constant moving and a lack of safe lodging have all contributed to the worsening of Gaza’s food security situation, as well as the ban on fishing and the destruction or inaccessibility of 98 percent of its cropland.

In mid-March, Israel imposed a total blockade on Gaza’s access to food and other supplies, including water, medicine, and fuel. Although the total blockade has been lifted, strict import restrictions still apply.

What makes the IPC determination so crucial?

The IPC is recognized as the main tool used by the UN and the international community to assess global food insecurity levels.

The information provided by the IPC is crucial for preventing famine and preventing future food crises. It can also encourage international cooperation to intervene quickly enough to stop famine or put an end to it once it has begun.

A Famine Review Committee made up of “leading independent international food security, nutrition, and mortality experts” is required to assess a famine before it is classified in a complex process that involves several stages, with input from a variety of organizations and individuals. This committee must conduct a review to ensure the analysis’ technical rigor and neutrality before the results are confirmed and made public, according to the IPC.

In Sudan in 2024, famines occurred in Sudan in 2011, South Sudan in 2017 and in Sudan in 2017.

What has been the response?

The famine was described as a “man-made disaster, a moral indictment, and a failure of humanity itself,” according to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

As the occupying power, Guterres claimed that Israel had “unequivocal obligations” under international law to allow the movement of food and medical supplies to Gaza.

According to Guterres, “famine is not just about food; it also involves the deliberate collapse of the systems necessary for human survival.” “People are starving,” he said. Children are euthanizing. And they are failing those who have a duty to act.

Action is being demanded by humanitarian organizations.

The International Rescue Committee’s president, David Miliband, called for the findings of today to be a wake-up call for the international community. More lives will be lost to starvation and disease without a ceasefire and immediate, unrestricted humanitarian access.

Israel, on the other hand, has refuted the findings, saying that in Gaza there wasn’t a famine in spite of the IPC’s evidence.

Who: Manchester City vs Tottenham Hotspur
What: English Premier League
Where: Etihad Stadium in Manchester, United Kingdom
When: Saturday, August 23 at 12:30pm (11:30 GMT)

How to follow: We’ll have all the updates on Al Jazeera Sport from 9:30am (8:30 GMT) in advance of our live match commentary stream at 12:30pm (11:30 GMT).

After the battle of Old Trafford between Manchester United and Arsenal on the opening weekend, the Premier League has served up another mouth-watering early-season meeting between two sides with lofty ambitions this term.

Manchester City and Tottenham both proved to be well below par last season but come into the new campaign full of vigour – and with plenty of new signings.

Al Jazeera Sport takes a look at another stellar Premier League match-up in only the second round of fixtures.

How did Man City and Tottenham fare last season?

Manchester City’s slide was the most surprising of all last year, as Pep Guardiola’s defending champions struggled through the early months of the campaign before scrambling over the line to claim a Champions League qualifying position at the last.

Tottenham, meanwhile, finished one place above the relegation zone – a position that led to Thomas Franck replacing Ange Postecoglou as manager.

Spurs did, however, lift the Europa League, beating Manchester United in the final, meaning the north London club are competing in the Champions League alongside City this season.

What happened on the opening weekend for Man City and Tottenham?

City stormed to a 4-0 win at Wolverhampton Wanderers with Erling Haaland netting twice. Tijjani Reijnders, making his Premier League debut, was one of the key performers and topped his day with a goal, while Rayan Cherki came off the bench to score the fourth.

Tottenham also eased their way into the new campaign with a 3-0 home win against Burnley.

Richarlison scored the first two for Spurs, the opener in the 10th minute, before Brennan Johnson added the third.

Who did Man City and Tottenham sign in the summer?

Former Man City academy player James Trafford was a late summer signing in goal for City and is set to continue between the sticks with Ederson still being linked with a move away from the Etihad.

The 23-year-old, who left City for Burnley in 2023, is the latest of six summer recruits for Guardiola to go with the arrivals of Omar Marmoush, Abdukodir Khusanov, Nico Gonzalez and Vitor Reis in the January window.

The signings of Reijnders, defender Rayan Ait-Nouri, midfielder Sverre Nypan and winger Cherki, alongside Trafford and veteran keeper Marcus Bettinelli, means City’s spending for 2025 has surpassed the 300 million pound ($402m) mark.

Tottenham have not been shy themselves, when it comes to splashing the cash with eight recruits signed in this window.

The capture of Ghana forward, Mohammed Kudus, from rivals West Ham for 55 million pounds ($73.8m) is the headline news.

Fellow attacker Mathys Tel was hardly cheap, though, with the 20-year-old Frenchman secured for 40.2 million pounds ($53.9m) from Bayern Munich. Both will be looked upon to fill the hole left by Son Heung-min’s transfer to Los Angeles.

Kevin Danso’s 21 million pounds ($28.2m) arrival in defence from Lens will also be seen as a major move following the difficulties suffered at the back by Spurs under Postecoglou.

What happened the last time Man City played Tottenham?

The last meeting between the teams was in North London in February with City winning 1-0.

Erling Haaland scored the only goal of the game in the 12th minute.

What happened in the corresponding fixture last season?

Tottenham stormed to a 4-0 win in the Premier League encounter at Etihad Stadium last season.

City were in the middle of a wretched run, which ended their title defence before it got off the ground, and the hammering on November 23 only compounded matters.

James Maddison scored in the 12th and 20th minutes to give Spurs a storming start before Pedro Porro and Brennan Johnson rounded off matters in the second half.

Spurs had already claimed a 2-1 League Cup win against City by that stage of the season.

Head-to-head

This is the 165th meeting between the clubs with Manchester City winning 69 times and Tottenham emerging victorious on 68 occasions.

The first meeting came in January 1909 with Spurs winning 4-3 in an FA Cup encounter in Manchester.

The North London club have won two of the last three matches, ending a run of only one win in five against City.

Man City team news

Midfielders Mateo Kovacic, Kalvin Phillips and forward Savinho will all miss the match due to Achilles issues for the former two and an unspecified injury for the latter.

Rodri, Ederson, Phil Foden and Josko Gvardiol were all absent from the season-opening win against Wolverhampton Wanderers but returned to training this week.

Tottenham team news

Maddison leads a long list of absentees for Spurs and his loss is doubly felt following his brace in the win at the Etihad last season.

Radu Dragusin, Dejan Kulusevski, Bryan Gil, Manor Solomon and Kota Takai are all also missing for the trip due to injuries.

Yves Bissouma and Destiny Udogie, however, are both set to be assessed ahead of the match after missing the win against Burnley due to knocks.

Manchester City predicted starting lineup

Trafford; Nunes, Stones, Dias, Ait-Nouri; Bernardo, Gonzalez; Bobb, Reijnders, Marmoush; Haaland

Tottenham Hotspur predicted starting lineup

Famine is occurring in the northern Gaza Strip and is projected to spread to central and southern areas by the end of September, a global hunger monitor has warned.

The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) initiative said on Friday that famine was occurring in the Gaza governorate, a region where hundreds of thousands of Palestinians live in northern Gaza, and that it was likely to reach the central region of Deir el-Balah and Khan Younis in southern Gaza by the end of next month.

After 22 months of conflict, more than half a million people are facing famine (IPC Phase 5), a catastrophic situation characterised by starvation, acute malnutrition, and mortality, it said. Another 1.07 million people – 54 percent of the population – are facing emergency (IPC Phase 4), and 396,000 people (20 percent) are in crisis (IPC Phase 3).

Conditions are expected to further worsen between mid-August and the end of September 2025, with famine projected to expand to the central Deir el-Balah and southern Khan Younis areas.

By the end of this period, almost a third of the population of Gaza  – nearly 641,000 people  – is expected to face catastrophic conditions (IPC Phase 5), while the number of people in emergency (IPC Phase 4) will likely increase to 1.14 million, or some 58 percent of the population.

This marks the most severe deterioration since the IPC partnership – which comprises 21 organisations including UN agencies, NGOs, technical agencies and regional bodies – began analysing acute food insecurity and acute malnutrition in the Gaza Strip.

It also marks the first time a famine has been officially confirmed in Gaza.

The IPC global initiative described the situation as “a race against time”, adding that “famine must be stopped at all costs”.

It warned that acute malnutrition was projected to continue worsening “rapidly”.

At least 132,000 children under the age of five will be at risk of death from acute malnutrition by June 2026, it said. This number has doubled compared with the IPC estimates reported in May 2025.

This includes at least 41,000 severe cases at heightened risk of death.

Nearly 55,500 malnourished pregnant and breastfeeding women will require an urgent nutrition response, the IPC initiative added.

‘Man-made disaster’

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Gaza’s famine was a “man-made disaster, a moral indictment, and a failure of humanity itself.”

“Famine is not only about food; it is the deliberate collapse of the systems needed for human survival,” Guterres said. “People are starving. Children are dying. And those with the duty to act are failing.”

The UN chief said Israel, as the occupying power, has “unequivocal obligations” under international law, including the duty to unsure that food and medical supplies are made available to the population of Gaza.

“We cannot allow this situation to continue with impunity,” he said. “No more excuses. The time for action is not tomorrow – it is now.”

UN aid chief Tom Fletcher said Gaza’s famine was taking place “within a few hundred metres of food,” as aid trucks remain stuck at land crossings amid Israeli restrictions on commercial and humanitarian deliveries.

“It is a famine openly promoted by some Israeli leaders as a weapon of war,” Fletcher told a press conference.

In a plea to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Fletcher demanded that Israel “end the retribution” and open Gaza’s crossings for unrestricted access.

“Let us get food and other supplies in and at the massive scale required,” he said. “For humanity’s sake, let us in.”

Director-General of the World Health Organisation (WHO) Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said “this man-made, widespread malnutrition means that even common and usually mild diseases like diarrhoea are becoming fatal, especially for children.”

“Gaza must be urgently supplied with food and medicines,” he said on X, and called for an end to “aid blockages.”

‘No famine’ in Gaza

Israel does not accept that there is widespread malnutrition among Palestinians in Gaza and disputes the hunger fatality figures, arguing that the deaths are due to other medical causes.

Responding to the IPC report, Israel’s foreign ministry said there was “no famine in Gaza”.

“Over 100,000 trucks of aid have entered Gaza since the start of the war, and in recent weeks a massive influx of aid has flooded the Strip with staple foods and caused a sharp decline in food prices, which have plummeted in the markets,” the ministry said in a statement.

Ahead of the report’s release, the US ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, preemptively attacked its findings. “You know who IS starving? The hostages kidnapped and tortured by uncivilised Hamas savages,” he wrote on X.

“Maybe the over fed terrorists could share some of their warehouse full they stole with hungry people especially the hostages”.

Israel has been insisting that Hamas is starving the remaining Israeli captives in Gaza, some of whom appeared emaciated in recent footage released by the Palestinian group.

Israel imposed a total blockade on Gaza in March and has severely restricted aid entering the territory since May, routing supplies via the controversial Israel and US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) scheme.

According to the UN, more than 1,300 people seeking food supplies have been killed since late May, including 859 at GHF aid distribution sites, which are under the control of the Israeli military and private US contractors.

Starvation used as a ‘weapon of war’

Several NGOs reacted to the IPC report echoing the UN’s warnings of deliberate starvation.

The UK-based Oxfam said the famine in Gaza was “entirely driven by Israel’s near-total blockade on food and vital aid, the horrifying consequence of Israel’s violence, and its use of starvation as a weapon of war.”

“This is what our staff and partners have been witnessing for months – people in the Gaza Strip being deliberately starved, relentlessly bombarded and forcefully displaced,” Oxfam’s Helen Stawski said in a statement.

Save the Children said Gaza was being “systematically starved by design, and children are paying the highest price.”

“This engineered famine is the ultimate and inevitable result of the Government of Israel’s use of starvation as a weapon of war,” the organisation said. “The sustained siege on food, medicine and fuel was bound to lead to this preventable catastrophe. There is no world leader who did not know this was coming, who hasn’t been warned again and again.”

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) said it was “appalled” by the  IPC report, which “confirms the unthinkable.”

“Famine is now a deadly reality in Gaza City,” it said in a statement. “This devastating milestone confirms what humanitarians have warned for months: famine is no longer a looming threat—it is a deadly reality with catastrophic hunger tightening its grip across the population.”