As reports and images from Gaza emerge showing families struggling to make ends meet and children suffering from acute malnutrition, international attention once again turns towards one haunting question: Is Gaza facing a famine?
Aid organizations and United Nations agencies warn that parts of Gaza may already meet the criteria for famine. But what exactly does that term entail and why aren’t famine declarations more frequently made?
Famine classification does not depend on media headlines or political rhetoric; rather it follows an established technical framework, such as that created by the International Food Security Phase Classification (IFSPC), an international system to measure levels of food insecurity. According to this classification system, Phase 5 — or Famine in IPC terminology — is declared when three thresholds are simultaneously reached:
At least 20% of the population experiences food shortages that exceed their abilities to cope.
Malnutrition rates exceed 30% among children living in poverty, as measured by those suffering from wasting (low weight for height).
Starvation- and hunger-related disease kill two out of every 10,000 people daily.
Meeting all three criteria can trigger an official famine declaration; however, such declarations tend to be rare and delayed due to challenges associated with collecting real-time, verified data in conflict zones.
Gaza, according to a new IPC report released this week, faces an extremely dire food security situation: approximately 1.8 million residents face emergency food insecurity levels or worse; UN officials have confirmed widespread acute malnutrition among children under five; yet due to access restrictions and military activity, reliable mortality data remain limited.
David Fletcher, an IPC analyst and emergency nutrition specialist stated: “Based on existing indicators, it appears highly probable that certain areas in Gaza – specifically its north – have entered or are rapidly approaching famine conditions,” but without full access a formal declaration remains challenging.
Humanitarian groups have voiced concern that delays in declaring famine may thwart international efforts necessary to save more lives. Sarah El-Baz of Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders) noted, “we should not wait for bureaucratic confirmation before acting; the reality on the ground is clear — people are starving now.”
Declaring a famine has major political repercussions. It can trigger emergency funding, international interventions and hold governments to account under humanitarian law; yet its declaration can also cause friction within active conflict zones such as Gaza where parties dispute responsibility.
Israel maintains control of most of Gaza’s borders and denies obstructing humanitarian aid deliveries to Gaza, while aid agencies insist deliveries fall well short of meeting needs.
As diplomatic negotiations for a ceasefire and expanded humanitarian access continue, experts caution that each passing day without full aid access raises the risk of full-scale famine being confirmed; an outcome which would come too late to save those already dying from hunger.
Gazan civilians, particularly children, suffer from dire living conditions that border on starvation; for them the difference between “crisis” and “famine” isn’t simply technical — it is literally life or death.