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GAZA CITY – Famine is now a reality in Gaza City and surrounding areas in the northern Gaza Strip, a United Nations-backed global food security authority confirmed Friday. The declaration has prompted international outcry, with UN Secretary-General António Guterres describing the crisis as a "man-made disaster" and a "total failure of humanity."

The long-feared announcement came from the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), the global body responsible for assessing food crises. Its latest report found that more than half a million people in the region are facing "catastrophic" levels of hunger, the most severe classification on its scale. This means at least one in five households is confronting an extreme lack of food, and rates of acute malnutrition and death have crossed the famine threshold.

In a stark address, Guterres condemned the conditions that led to the famine. "This is an entirely man-made disaster, and the report is an indictment of our collective inaction," he stated. "Let’s be clear: when famine is declared, it is too late for too many. This is a day of shame."

The Technical Threshold of Starvation

A declaration of famine is not made lightly. It requires rigorous data indicating that three specific conditions have been met:

1. At least 20% of households face an extreme lack of food.
2. More than 30% of children suffer from acute malnutrition.
3. The death rate has doubled, exceeding two deaths per 10,000 people each day.

Aid agencies have been warning for months that the conditions in Gaza, particularly in the isolated northern areas, were rapidly deteriorating toward this outcome. The IPC report confirms their gravest fears have been realized, citing the ongoing conflict and severe restrictions on humanitarian access as the primary drivers of the crisis.

A Crisis Fueled by Conflict and Blockade

Humanitarian organizations on the ground report that delivering aid to those in need remains exceptionally difficult and dangerous. Convoys have been frequently delayed or denied entry, and distribution within Gaza is hampered by destroyed infrastructure and persistent security risks.

The World Food Programme (WFP) stated that its teams have struggled to reach northern Gaza consistently. "Our convoys have faced immense obstacles, but we will not give up," said a WFP spokesperson in a statement. "The declaration of famine must be a wake-up call to the world. We need immediate and unimpeded access to avert a wider catastrophe."

The report details how the collapse of the local food system—including the destruction of bakeries, farms, and markets—has left the population almost entirely dependent on external aid that is not reaching them in sufficient quantities.

Calls for Unfettered Access and a Ceasefire

The famine declaration has intensified international pressure for a ceasefire and for the full, safe, and unhindered flow of humanitarian aid into all parts of the Gaza Strip. Officials from the European Union and the United States have echoed the UN's call for urgent action.

Health officials in Gaza paint a harrowing picture of the human cost, describing clinics overwhelmed with severely malnourished children and elderly patients too weak to survive common illnesses. Dr. Husam Abu Safiya, head of Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza, told reporters via a video link that his staff were witnessing "unprecedented levels of starvation."

While the famine is currently confirmed in the north, the IPC report warns that the entire Gaza Strip is at high risk, with the southern and central regions also facing emergency levels of food insecurity. Without a significant and sustained increase in aid and a cessation of hostilities, experts fear the famine could spread, engulfing the entire population of over two million people.