A group of independent UN human rights experts reported on Tuesday that over one-fifth of Gaza’s population faces the most severe or “catastrophic” level of food insecurity. Recent child deaths due to malnutrition indicate widespread famine, Reuters reported.
Health authorities in Gaza confirmed that at least 33 children have died from malnutrition, primarily in the northern areas, which have endured intense bombing since Hamas’s attack on southern Israel on October 7.
Since early May, the conflict has extended to southern Gaza, disrupting aid flows amid Israeli-imposed restrictions. Israel accuses UN agencies of inefficiently distributing relief supplies.
The group of 11 experts, in their statement on Tuesday, highlighted the deaths of three children, aged 13, 9, and 6 months, due to malnutrition in Khan Younis in southern Gaza and Deir al-Balah in central Gaza since the end of May.
The experts stated, “With these children dying from hunger despite medical treatment in central Gaza, there is no doubt that famine has spread from northern to central and southern Gaza.”
The statement, signed by experts including the Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food Michael Fakhri, condemned Israel’s “deliberate and targeted starvation campaign” against the Palestinian people. Israel’s diplomatic mission in Geneva dismissed the statement as “misinformation.”
Israel claims it continuously enhances coordination and assistance for humanitarian aid delivery throughout Gaza and recently connected its power line to Gaza’s desalination plant.
In a Khan Younis hospital, a Palestinian woman named Ghaneema Jumaa told Reuters on Monday that she fears her son might die of hunger. Sitting beside her motionless son receiving intravenous nutrition, she said, “It’s a hard tragedy watching my son dying of malnutrition before my eyes because I can’t provide anything due to the war, the border closures, and contaminated water.”
Famine status is officially determined through the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, supported by the UN, which assesses based on technical criteria.
Last month’s report from this classification indicated that Gaza remains at significant risk of famine with the ongoing war and restricted aid access.
