A UN-backed famine declaration in Gaza City has intensified global outrage as Israel expands its military offensive against Hamas.
A UN-backed body has officially declared famine in Gaza City for the first time, warning of widespread malnutrition across the war-torn enclave. The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) described the crisis as “entirely man-made,” reporting at least 251 deaths from malnutrition, nearly half of them children.
British Foreign Secretary David Lammy called the situation “utterly horrifying,” blaming Israel’s refusal to allow sufficient aid. Israel dismissed the IPC report as “fabricated,” with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insisting Hamas has diverted humanitarian supplies. Defence Minister Israel Katz vowed Gaza City would be destroyed unless Hamas surrenders, warning: “Soon, the gates of hell will open upon the heads of Hamas’s murderers.”
The declaration comes as Israel begins Operation Gideon’s Chariots II, mobilising tens of thousands of troops to encircle Gaza City, Hamas’s last stronghold. International pressure is mounting, with France and Britain signaling moves to recognize Palestinian statehood amid the worsening humanitarian disaster.