The world’s leading hunger monitor, backed by the United Nations, declared a famine in Gaza for the first time since the war began, warning that half a million Palestinians were facing “catastrophic” conditions.

The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification said that half a million Gaza residents are “facing catastrophic conditions characterized by starvation, destitution, and death,” 1.07 million are experiencing a food emergency, and the remaining 396,000 are in a food crisis, citing “reasonable evidence.” It warned that if conditions don’t change dramatically within a month, one-third of Gaza’s population could experience famine, with most of the remainder experiencing a food emergency.

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The IPC report found that food security varied by area — 30% of Gaza City was experiencing the IPC’s worst food security classification, Phase 5, crossing the line into famine. Deir al Balah and Khan Younis weren’t experiencing famine, with those in Phase 5 at 20% and 25%, respectively, but are expected to cross into famine next month. North Gaza wasn’t classified due to “limited evidence on the population in this area,” while Rafah wasn’t classified due to assessments that it is largely depopulated.

The IPC’s criteria hold that for a famine to be declared, two of three conditions must be met: at least 20% of households are facing an extreme food shortage, at least 30% of children are malnourished, or the area is experiencing two adult or four child non-trauma deaths for every 10,000 people.

The Famine Review Committee said the severity of the crisis in Gaza necessitated the monitor’s return to the area more than any other. The latest report is based on its fifth analysis.

“Constant cycles of increased humanitarian access followed by severe restrictions, together with stark disparities among vulnerable populations, have left many at a heightened risk of a rapid collapse in health and nutrition,” it said. “The international community can no longer afford to be diverted by short-term, marginal improvements. The scale of the crisis demands a sustained, large-scale, multi-sectoral response.”

Israel vehemently rejected the findings, accusing the IPC of fabricating data and changing its criteria to fabricate a narrative.

“The IPC released a fabricated, Hamas-driven report by lowering its famine threshold from 30% to 15% and ignoring death rate criteria. There is no famine in Gaza: over 100,000 aid trucks have entered, food is abundant, and prices have sharply dropped. The IPC’s forecasts on Gaza have repeatedly proven false, and this assessment will also be discarded as political propaganda,” the Israeli Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

“The IPC just published a tailor-made report to fit Hamas’s fake campaign. They twisted their own rules, lowered famine thresholds, and ignored death-rate criteria — all to smear Israel with lies,” Israel’s X account said, accusing it of “deceiving the public.”

The Israeli security agency that oversees aid deliveries to Gaza, the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories, alleged that the IPC ignored its efforts to increase aid flows to Gaza in August.

“The I.P.C. report is based on partial and unreliable sources,” COGAT head Maj. Gen. Ghassan Alian said in a statement, adding that it “blatantly ignores the facts and the extensive humanitarian efforts” led by Israel, the New York Times reported.

The Washington Examiner reached out to the State Department for comment.

UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell said famine is now a “grim reality for children in Gaza Governorate” and a looming threat for children elsewhere in Gaza. She urged Israeli officials to implement a ceasefire and allow extensive outside aid into the besieged strip.

“As we have repeatedly warned, the signs were unmistakable: children with wasted bodies, too weak to cry or eat; babies dying from hunger and preventable disease; parents arriving at clinics with nothing left to feed their children. There is no time to lose,” she said. “Without an immediate ceasefire and full humanitarian access, famine will spread, and more children will die. Children on the brink of starvation need the special therapeutic feeding that UNICEF provides.”

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the famine is a “man-made disaster, a moral indictment, and a failure of humanity itself.”

“People are starving. Children are dying. And those with the duty to act are failing,” he said.

The IPC has a five-phase classification system for hunger security, ranging from Phase 1, which is none or minimal, to Phase 5, which is catastrophe or famine. It describes Phase 5 as being characterized by households having “an extreme lack of food and/or are unable to meet other basic needs even after full employment of coping strategies. Starvation, death, destitution, and extremely critical acute malnutrition levels are evident.”

The IPC report held that the collapse in the humanitarian situation was due to the resumption of hostilities following the end of the ceasefire in March. Since then, it said 3,700 Palestinians have been killed and 14,000 injured. About 800,000 have been displaced. Humanitarian metrics all declined since hostilities escalated in May.

Israel’s aid distribution system has come under intense international scrutiny. The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation took over aid distribution to the embattled strip in May with close cooperation with the Israel Defense Forces. The aid group distributes aid through a handful of militarized stations, frequently leading to troops firing into crowds of Palestinians.

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The critical food situation has led to one of Israel’s worst periods of public relations since the war began, with staunch Israel ally President Donald Trump reportedly disturbed by images of starving Palestinian children. Jerusalem said it had taken several steps to improve the situation substantially in August.

Israel recently approved a plan to take full control of Gaza in an effort to end the war quickly despite international disapproval.