Famine Confirmed in Gaza: 500,000 Face Catastrophic Hunger

August 22, 2025

A new report released today by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) confirms what Mercy Corps and other aid organizations have urgently warned for months: Gaza is now experiencing famine. This is the first time a famine has been officially confirmed in the Middle East. Over half a million people in Gaza City are facing catastrophic shortages, with over a million more people projected to be at risk of starvation and death in the next month as famine may spread to more areas. Over 130,000 children younger than five are at risk of death from acute malnutrition, double the number initially estimated in May. 

 The data, collected between July 1st and August 15th, paints a grim picture of a humanitarian catastrophe driven by over 22 months of violence, blockade, and willful inaction. Nearly every family in Gaza is skipping meals, scavenging for food, and facing rising risks of starvation, disease, and death.  

Mercy Corps Chief Executive Officer, Tjada D’Oyen McKenna, says: 

"This confirmation of famine is absolutely horrifying yet not surprising. This is the direct result of months of deliberate restrictions on aid, the destruction of Gaza’s food, health, and water systems, and relentless bombardment. This is a man-made catastrophe, entirely preventable and entirely unconscionable. 

“We’re watching our own team members waste away. They’re standing in food lines, skipping meals so their children can eat, and risking their lives daily just to find bread and water. 

“Mercy Corps has life-saving aid – enough to help 160,000 people – waiting for permission to enter Gaza. But it has been blocked for months. This includes food kits, hygiene supplies, and shelter materials, pre-positioned and waiting for clearance. Meanwhile, 2,700 of our food kits have items within them that have already expired, lost due to political inaction. 

"There is still time to save lives, but only if Israeli authorities enable humanitarian aid to flow unimpeded and at the scale needed; if aid workers have the safety guarantees to move freely and reach civilians in urgent need of help; if electricity and water systems are fully restored and sustained; and if health and nutrition services can function. 

“We are not facing a logistics, capacity, or resource problem. What’s missing is not the ability to respond, but the political will to allow it. Failure to do so will cost countless additional lives. Without a ceasefire and unhindered humanitarian access, the suffering will only deepen. Gazans are losing hope – and time is running out for survival.  

“What we are witnessing in Gaza is a moral failing of the highest order. The world knows how to stop a famine—we just need the will to act.”  

Mercy Corps team members in Gaza share their experiences:  

Osama: “The food situation is dire in every sense. Sadly, everyone in the family has lost a noticeable amount of weight, especially the adults. For my youngest child, we do everything we can to ensure he eats, even if it means skipping meals ourselves, just to prevent him from becoming malnourished.” 

Areej: “Everyone I know has lost at least ten kilograms in the past two months, simply because there isn’t enough to eat. The children are the most affected. They can’t focus, they have no energy to play, and their bodies are weak. They lack basic nutrition, no calcium, no protein. Just bread made from wheat, lentils, rice, and falafel. My son and my nephews constantly ask for more food. They’re always hungry because the little they get is never enough.” 

Since October 2023, Mercy Corps has reached over 371,000 people with emergency assistance—including food baskets, hygiene kits, shelter kits, emergency cash, and water trucking. We are currently delivering clean drinking water. Mercy Corps has had life-saving assistance waiting at the border for months, unable to distribute humanitarian commodities due to the blockade. As soon as the borders open our teams and partners on the ground will be able to distribute aid to over 160,000 and to support thousands more through local partners. 

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