The food situation is particularly dramatic: the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) report of August 22, 2025, confirms for the first time officially a famine (Pphase 5 – “catastrophic hunger”) in the Gaza Governorate (including Gaza City) for the period from July 1 to August 15, 2025. Over half a million people there are at immediate risk of starvation (source: IPC 08/2025). According to forecasts, this figure will rise to almost 641,000 people by the end of September 2025 – around one third of the total population of the Gaza Strip.
Almost the entire population (approximately 2.1 million people) is affected by acute food insecurity: around 1.14 million are in IPC Phase 4 (“emergency”), and around 396,000 are in Phase 3 (“crisis”).
The new report shows a shocking increase in hunger and malnutrition, with children under the age of five particularly at risk.
This famine is a man-made disaster caused by blockades, ongoing war, the destruction of local food supplies, and restrictions on humanitarian aid.
Almost 98% of agricultural land has been destroyed or is inaccessible, and the local food market has virtually collapsed. In addition, access to water, fuel, and medicine is severely restricted.
Medical care in the Gaza Strip is on the brink of total collapse. Most health facilities have been destroyed, and the few hospitals still operating are completely overwhelmed, struggling to treat the large number of injured. In addition, the majority of the population lacks access to adequate sanitation and basic hygiene. Under these catastrophic conditions, disease is spreading rapidly. People in the Gaza Strip are in urgent need of humanitarian aid to survive.
