UN Declares Famine in Gaza

The UN is notoriously focused on condemning Israel far beyond the number of times it condemns other nations in the world.

From 2015 through 2023, the UN General Assembly has adopted 154 resolutions against Israel and 71 against other countries…

In 2024, the UNGA is expected to adopt 18 resolutions on Israel and only seven resolutions on the entire rest of the world, which include one resolution each on North Korea, Iran, Syria, Myanmar, Russia for its violations in Georgia, Russia for its occupation of Crimea, and the United States for its embargo on Cuba, as detailed in the charts below.

Today, the UN released an analysis under its Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), concluding that parts of Gaza are now suffering from famine.

The IPC, an internationally recognized system for classifying food insecurity and malnutrition, said in its report that famine had been confirmed in the Gaza Governorate — and that it was projected to expand to the Deir al-Balah and Khan Younis Governorates farther south by the end of September if the humanitarian situation does not change.

The number of people now experiencing famine in Gaza was nearly 514,000, the IPC said — around a quarter of the enclave’s population. That was projected to rise to 641,000 by the end of September.

“Famine is a race against time,” the IPC said. “An immediate ceasefire and end to the conflict is critical to enabling an unimpeded, large-scale humanitarian response to save lives.”…

“A ceasefire is an absolute and moral imperative now,” said World Health Organization Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. “The world has waited too long, watching tragic and unnecessary deaths mount from this man-made famine.”

Israel has denied the UN claims.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu forcefully rejected the report’s findings, calling them a “lie,” and repeated that “Israel does not have a policy of starvation.”…

Earlier, Israel’s foreign ministry said the IPC had published a “fabricated report to fit Hamas’s fake campaign.”

There’s also a thread on X posted this morning by the Office of the Prime Minister:

This is not analysis. It is a modern blood libel, spreading like wildfire through prejudice. History will judge those who peddle it. The IPC must end its double standards against the Jewish state.

— Prime Minister of Israel (@IsraeliPM) August 22, 2025

The declaration from the UN comes just as Israel is launching a new invasion of Gaza City designed to force Hamas to surrender.

Israel’s troops have established a foothold on the outskirts of the city – which is home to more than a million Palestinians – after days of intense bombing and artillery fire.

It has prompted UN Secretary General António Guterres to renew calls for an immediate ceasefire “to avoid the death and destruction” an assault would “inevitably cause”.

Israel wants to signal that it is pressing ahead with its plan to capture all of Gaza City despite international criticism.

My own take is that multiple things can be true at once. Is the UN using this to pressure Israel (rather than Hamas) to end the war? Yes, clearly. Does this new report dovetail with demands for a ceasefire the UN was already making? Yes. Is there actual starvation happening in parts of Gaza? Yes, probably so. President Trump made this point several weeks ago: There are starving kids in Gaza.

“I think everybody — unless they’re pretty coldhearted or, worse than that, nuts — there’s nothing you can say other than ‘it’s terrible’ when you see the kids… that are starving,” says @POTUS on Gaza.

“They got to get them food — and we’re going to get them food.” pic.twitter.com/fkzTVITNIw

— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) July 30, 2025

Of course Hamas could end the war today by announcing they would surrender their arms, give up control of Gaza and return the remaining 50 or so hostages. But as usual, Hamas is counting on Israel to be more humane toward their own people than they themselves are. The rest of the world seems to take this for granted, just like the tunnels built under homes and hospitals.