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The UN-backed Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), the system the world relies on to measure hunger, has officially declared famine in Gaza City and its surrounding areas. That’s the highest possible level on the scale, a stage marked by starvation, destitution and death.

The Israeli Foreign Ministry has predictably dismissed the findings, claiming there is “no famine in Gaza” and calling the IPC’s report “based on Hamas lies,” according to Al Jazeera.

But the numbers are staggering. The Gaza Governorate has now been pushed to Phase 5 of the IPC system, which means famine is a reality for over half a million people. By the end of September, the crisis is expected to spread to Deir el-Balah in central Gaza and Khan Younis in the south, potentially encompassing more than three quarters of Gaza’s population — nearly 641,000 people.

This marks the sharpest deterioration since the IPC began monitoring what it has called an “entirely manmade” hunger in the Gaza Strip. The larger picture doesn’t offer relief either: another 1.7 million people — more than half of Gaza’s total population — are already living in “emergency” conditions, while 396,000 remain in “crisis.”

‘Man-made disaster’

On social media, the declaration has been met with grief, rage and renewed calls for action.

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres described famine in Gaza as “a man-made disaster, a moral indictment and a failure of humanity itself.” He wrote, “People are starving. Children are dying. And those with the duty to act are failing. No more excuses. The time for action is not tomorrow — it is now.”

Economist and academic Mariana Mazzucato echoed the same urgency, writing, “We don’t need more studies, we need action. Stop wasting time: Act now! Every minute counts.”

‘Stain on humanity’

For many online, the declaration felt like a line being crossed. “They’ve officially declared famine in Gaza… this now goes beyond starvation,” wrote a user. Another called it “a stain on humanity” while demanding “international intervention now.”

A user called the gesture of air-dropping aid into Gaza a “performative” effort rendered futile. “So when is there real action?” they asked.

Another condemned what they called media whitewashing: “The Western press is now going to give more airtime to Israel’s denials than the IPC’s findings.”

‘Human-caused famine’

Across the board, one sentiment dominated — famine in Gaza is not the consequence of some economic downfall or natural disaster, it’s the consequence of Israel’s ongoing assault and blockade.

“Human-caused famine, yet still the bombs keep falling and the world just watches,” a user lamented.

Scholar and civil rights activist Omar Suleiman remarked, “What a world. Let no one ever claim ignorance.”

The hashtag #GazaFamine is also trending, with users condemning Israel’s restrictions on food and aid as a “crime against humanity” and an “act of genocide.”

A preventable tragedy

Beyond the headlines, the declaration makes official what aid groups have been warning for months. Children under five are dying of hunger, families are scraping for survival, and the collapse of food systems is now deliberate, not incidental.

For many online, today’s declaration is a reminder of Western complicity in Israel’s genocide. What’s needed now, like a user said, is “immediate action. Sanction Netanyahu, recognise Palestine and demand access to aid.”

Top UN officials have blamed this famine squarely on Israel, calling it out for “systematic obstruction” of aid deliveries to the war-ravaged Palestinian territory.

The IPC defines famine as occurring when 20pc of households have an extreme lack of food, 30pc of children under five are acutely malnourished, and at least two in every 10,000 people die daily from outright starvation or from malnutrition and disease.

Earlier, the WHO described Gaza’s situation as “manmade mass starvation,” citing soaring malnutrition and constrained aid access. In July alone, over 5,100 children were admitted to malnutrition programmes, including 800 critically ill. As of this month, 197 deaths, including that of 96 children, have been attributed to hunger. Acute malnutrition has soared and child malnutrition has quadrupled in just two months, reaching 16.5pc with many deaths arriving on hospital doorsteps.

At the root of this is the Israeli blockade that has decimated agriculture. Only 1.5pc of Gaza’s cropland remains intact, with 86pc damaged. Almost all food must now be imported, and imports are severely restricted by the Israelis. A UN expert condemned Israel’s blockade as deliberate starvation, genocide, and crime against humanity.

The famine in Gaza is not just hunger. It is a failure of humanity, one that the world is watching in real time.