Report blames Israeli restrictions on aid. Europe presses for action as US stays silent and Israel prepares Gaza City assault
A United Nations-backed panel of food security experts said Friday that parts of Gaza are experiencing famine, pushing several European governments to demand a rapid increase in aid deliveries. The United States offered no comment, while Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the report “an outright lie” and said Israel had “gone to unprecedented lengths to enable aid to go into enemy territory.”
U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee was more blunt. “Tons of food has gone into Gaza but Hamas savages stole it, ate lots of it to become corpulent,” he wrote on X.
The report was released at the end of a week in which Netanyahu’s government either received backing from the Trump administration or benefited from its silence. Israel authorized 3,400 new housing units in the E1 area of the West Bank, a project frozen for two decades that critics say could block the creation of a future Palestinian state. At the same time, Netanyahu’s cabinet is preparing a military push into Gaza City, where hundreds of thousands of civilians are sheltering.
Trump campaigned on reducing U.S. involvement in foreign wars but has largely backed Israel’s offensive. Earlier this year he moved independently, mediating with Yemen’s Houthis to stop attacks on ships and opening direct talks with Hamas for the release of American hostages. In July, he acknowledged publicly that there was “starvation” in Gaza. In recent months he has drawn closer to Netanyahu as the White House’s priority has shifted to the war in Ukraine.
Aid groups describe worsening conditions. “This is not a crisis of a few isolated children; every child is at risk,” said Tess Ingram, a spokeswoman for UNICEF.
The IPC report warned that famine could spread to central and southern Gaza by September. Israeli officials say they have increased the flow of supplies and lowered prices in local markets. Netanyahu said there had been “temporary shortages” that were quickly addressed.
Residents describe a different reality. “The price of flour and canned food has dropped, but many items remain unaffordable,” said Hani al-Dibs, a 44-year-old teacher in Gaza City. He said he feeds his children two meals a day, often relying on canned beans and lentils, and that potable water is delivered by truck only twice a week.
Israel and the United States have set up a separate distribution system, with American contractors overseeing handouts in areas under Israeli military control. Gaza health officials say hundreds of people have been killed trying to reach those sites.
Britain placed the blame squarely on Israel. “The Israeli government’s refusal to allow sufficient aid into Gaza has caused this man-made catastrophe,” Foreign Secretary David Lammy said. “This is a moral outrage.” France, Australia and several other governments issued similar statements.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres called the famine “a man-made disaster” and said Israel, as the occupying power, has “unequivocal obligations, including the duty to ensure food and medical supplies of the population.” UN agencies renewed calls for an immediate ceasefire, unrestricted humanitarian corridors and the release of hostages held by Hamas.
By the end of September, UN projections say more than 640,000 people in Gaza will face the highest level of food insecurity, known as Phase 5. Another 1.5 million will be at Phase 4 and about 400,000 at Phase 3. In northern Gaza, where access is more limited, the situation is believed to be at least as severe.
“This is a famine that could have been prevented if we had been allowed to intervene,” said Tom Fletcher, the UN’s emergency relief coordinator. “It is a famine within a few hundred meters of warehouses full of food blocked at the borders. It is a famine in 2025, monitored by drones and some of the most advanced military systems in history.” However, it is also one whose existence Israel denies.
In July, more than 12,000 children were recorded as acutely malnourished, six times higher than at the start of the year. UN human rights chief Volker Türk said the famine was “the direct result of Israeli Government policies. It is a war crime to use starvation as a method of warfare.”
The IPC report marks the first official confirmation of famine in the Middle East. Food deliveries have increased slightly since July but remain far below needs. About 98 percent of Gaza’s farmland is damaged or inaccessible, and nine out of ten residents have been displaced from their homes.
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