Gaza City and surrounding areas are officially suffering from famine, and it will likely spread, a global hunger monitor determined on Friday (August 22), an assessment that will escalate pressure on Israel to allow more aid into the Palestinian enclave.

"We are living in the reality of this famine, and the famine is spreading throughout the Gaza Strip," said Aaed Khalaf, Deputy Director of the Paediatrics Department at Nasser Hospital.

The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification system said 514,000 people - nearly a quarter of Palestinians in Gaza - are experiencing famine, with the number due to rise to 641,000 by the end of September.

Some 280,000 of those people are in a northern region covering Gaza City - known as Gaza governorate - which the IPC said was in famine following nearly two years of war between Israel and Palestinian militants Hamas.

According to WFP over 12,000 children were identified as acutely malnourished in July this year, which the organisation says is "the highest monthly figure ever recorded and a six-fold increase since the start of the year."

The IPC’s finding makes Gaza the fifth territory worldwide to experience famine since the system was established.

Israel dismissed the report as false and biased, saying the IPC had based its survey on partial data largely provided by Hamas, which did not take into account a recent influx of food.

"There is no famine in Gaza," the Israeli foreign ministry said in a statement.

DESCRIPCIÓN DE IMÁGENES

KHAN YOUNIS, GAZA (AUGUST 22, 2025) (REUTERS – Access all)

1. VARIOUS OF CHILDREN IN THE MALNUTRITION DEPARTMENT WITH THEIR RELATIVES AT NASSER HOSPITAL

2. (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF THE PAEDIATRICS DEPARTMENT AT NASSER HOSPITAL, AAED KHALAF, SAYING:

“Today we are living in the reality of this famine, and the famine is spreading throughout the Gaza Strip. We call on and urge everyone to extend a helping hand and to bring in food supplies, to lift the siege, and stop the ongoing extermination being carried out in Gaza.”

3. VARIOUS OF MEDICAL STAFF AND A CHILD IN THE MALNUTRITION DEPARTMENT

4. (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF THE PAEDIATRICS DEPARTMENT AT NASSER HOSPITAL, AAED KHALAF, SAYING:

“The Gaza Strip, which was once flourishing with abundance and sustenance, today suffers this way. Famine and crises will continue if the world and international institutions do not unite to lift this injustice from the Gaza Strip.”

5. VARIOUS OF MEDICAL STAFF CHECKING VITALS OF A CHILD IN THE MALNUTRITION DEPARTMENT

6. LEGS OF A CHILD IN THE MALNUTRITION DEPARTMENT

7. MEDICAL STAFF

8. (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF THE PAEDIATRICS DEPARTMENT AT NASSER HOSPITAL, AAED KHALAF, SAYING:

“We are currently at the paediatrics hospital, where more than 60 cases come to the nutrition ward every day. Some of the cases are admitted due to severe malnutrition, but honestly, we cannot provide them with any medical assistance because of the lack of medical supplies. All we can do is give them (fluid) solutions and try to preserve the organs and tissues in the child’s body so that the condition does not worsen and lead to death.”

9. PALESTINIAN WOMEN AND CHILDREN IN THE MALNUTRITION DEPARTMENT AT HOSPITAL

10. A CHILD IN THE MALNUTRITION DEPARTMENT

11. (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) PALESTINIAN MAN, THABET AL-AMOUR, SAYING:

“It must not be enough to merely describe the famine occurring in the Gaza Strip. We, as the people of Palestine in Gaza — children, the sick, and the elderly — are in need of practical, on-the-ground measures. These measures can stop this famine, because this famine is the result of the actions of a state that is a member of the United Nations: the state of Israel.”

12. PEOPLE WALKING PAST AMBULANCE VANS

13. PEOPLE WALKING OUTSIDE NASSER HOSPITAL