Gaza Faces Man‑Made Mass Starvation, WHO Chief Warns*
WHO Director, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, labels the situation in Gaza as a “man‑made, mass starvation.”*
The United Nations, NGOs, and the World Food Programme (WFP) have issued alerts that an imminent famine may soon affect the Strip. With Israeli blockade tightening, authorities find it increasingly difficult to gather reliable data from the most impacted zones.
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What Is a Famine?
The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) defines famine using three criteria:
| Criterion |
Threshold |
| Household lack of food |
≥ 20 % of households experience extreme food deprivation and starvation |
| Child malnutrition |
> 30 % of children under 5 suffer acute malnutrition |
| Mortality rate |
> 2 deaths per 10 000 people per day |
When all three thresholds are met, governments and UN agencies can officially declare a famine.
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Current Situation in Gaza
WHO Assessment
“A large proportion of Gaza’s population is starving.”
Food deliveries are far below what is needed for survival.
Declaration of “man‑made, mass starvation.”
Doctors Without Borders (MSF)
25 % of children and pregnant or breastfeeding women tested were malnourished.
Accuses Israel of using “starvation as a weapon.”
World Food Programme (WFP)
Approximately 33 % of residents are not eating for days; malnutrition is rapidly worsening.
Al‑Shifa Hospital, Gaza City
21 children died in the last 72 hours due to malnutrition and starvation.
Market Prices
Flour costs $100 per kilogram (≈ 2 lb), making it largely unaffordable.
Agriculture has been decimated by ongoing conflict.
Aid Delivery
Roughly 20 aid trucks enter daily, insufficient for > 2 million hungry people.
Many trucks are reportedly looted or delayed.
“It’s needless to mention that we are in acute food insecurity, IPC 4, affecting almost the entire population. It’s a stark reality that doesn’t resonate.” – Amande Bazerolle, MSF“Yet we’re hurtling toward famine – that’s a certainty.” – MSF
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Data Collection Challenges
Solidarity Movement
“We cannot conduct necessary surveys or formally certify famine.” – Amande Bazerolle
Action Against Hunger
“Continuous displacement and movement restrictions severely hamper data collection.” – Jean‑Raphael Poitou
WHO Emergency Programme
“Access to information is limited.” – Nabil Tabbal
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Possibility of Avoiding Famine
French Foreign Ministry
Links malnutrition risk to Israel’s blockade.
Israeli Military Claims
Denotes no famine caused by Israel.
Highlights 950 truckloads of aid awaiting distribution.
Israeli Spokesperson, David Mencer
Attributes shortages to a “man‑made shortage engineered by Hamas.”
Hamas Position
Denies any causing of shortages.
NGO Coalition
Over 100 NGOs, including MSF, Caritas, Save the Children, Amnesty International, Medecins du Monde, Christian Aid, and Oxfam, urge Israel to:
Open all land crossings.
Restore full food flow into Gaza.
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Significance of a Famine Declaration
WFP’s Jean‑Martin Bauer
“A famine declaration is too late; by the time it’s made, many lives were already lost.”
Historical Reference
In 2011 Somalia, by the time famine was formally declared, half of the disaster’s victims had already perished.
Recent Conflict Context
Israel launched its military campaign in Gaza after an October 7, 2023 attack by Hamas.
Nearly 60,000 Palestinians killed; mainly civilians.
1,219 people died in Hamas’s October attack, most civilians.
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In Summary
Gaza’s ongoing siege, limited food supply, escalating malnutrition, and severe logistical barriers converge to create a humanitarian crisis that meets the IPC’s famine criteria. While official declarations may arrive too late to prevent deaths, the urgency of the situation demands immediate, unimpeded aid flows and international cooperation to avert a fully realized famine.
