[Since 13 October 2023, LPHR has clearly stated that starvation is being systematically pursued by Israel’s government against Gaza’s entire Palestinian civilian population.
On 20 May 2024, the ICC Prosecutor’s Office applied to the ICC Pre-Trial Chamber for arrest warrants against Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israel’s Defence Minister Yoav Gallant after finding reasonable grounds to believe that they bear criminal responsibility for the war crime of starvation as a method of warfare, and the directly-related crimes against humanity of murder, persecution, of other inhumane acts, and extermination.
The ICC Prosecutor’s application relating to the crime against humanity of persecution aligned fully with the careful findings of a comprehensive independent legal opinion made by an eminent team of experts commissioned by LPHR, which we submitted to the ICC Prosecutor’s Office in January 2024.
On 21 November 2024, the ICC Pre-Trial Chamber issued arrest warrants against Mr Netanyahu and Mr Gallant in relation to all the above crimes, except for the crime against humanity of extermination. They are both therefore ICC suspects-at-large.
Despite this very significant ICC development, Israel’s political and military leadership has maintained its systematic policy of starvation. It intensified on 2 March 2025 with the imposition of an 80-day total closure on humanitarian aid from entering Gaza. Its latest iteration is the ‘engineered scarcity‘ provided by the lethally perilous ‘Gaza Humanitarian Foundation’. This Israel and U.S. backed private organisation began operating in Gaza on 27 May 2025, and has led to over 1,000 starving Palestinians being killed by Israeli forces whilst attempting to access its food.
Today, the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification – the international standard for classifying food insecurity and malnutrition – has published an alert confirming what has been horrifically foreseen for months: ‘the ‘worst case scenario of Famine is unfolding in the Gaza Strip’. LPHR re-publishes the alert below.]
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• The worst-case scenario of Famine* is currently playing out in the Gaza Strip. Conflict and displacement have intensified, and access to food and other essential items and services has plummeted to unprecedented levels. *[Famine (IPC Phase 5) is the highest phase of the IPC Acute Food Insecurity scale, and is classified when an area has: 20% of households facing an extreme lack of food; 30% of children suffering from acute malnutrition; for every 10,000 individuals, between 2-4 non-trauma deaths are occurring each day]
• Mounting evidence shows that widespread starvation, malnutrition, and disease are driving a rise in hunger-related deaths. Latest data indicates that Famine thresholds have been reached for food consumption in most of the Gaza Strip and for acute malnutrition in Gaza City.
• Immediate action must be taken to end the hostilities and allow for unimpeded, large-scale, life-saving humanitarian response. This is the only path to stopping further deaths and catastrophic human suffering.
Amid relentless conflict, frequent displacements, extremely limited humanitarian access, and collapsing health care systems, the worst-case scenario is rapidly unfolding in Gaza.
The latest IPC analysis published on 12 May 2025 projected that the entire population in the Gaza Strip will face high levels of acute food insecurity (IPC Phase 3 or above) by September 2025, including half a million people in Catastrophe (IPC Phase 5), characterised by an extreme lack of food, starvation, destitution and death. Malnutrition was expected to reach Critical levels (IPC AMN Phase 4) in North Gaza, Gaza and Rafah governorates, with more than 70,000 cases of children under the age of five and 17,000 cases of pregnant and breastfeeding women (PBW) facing acute malnutrition across the territory. A risk of Famine was detected in all areas of the Gaza Strip.
Since the last analysis, bombardments have intensified and ground operations expanded, with a devastating impact on civilians with nearly 6,700 people killed and critical infrastructure destroyed. Since mid-May, an additional 325,000 people have been displaced, and 88 percent of the territory is currently under evacuation orders or within militarised areas. People’s access to food across Gaza is now alarmingly erratic and extremely perilous.
Since 27 May, over 1,000 people were killed while trying to access food in Gaza. Humanitarian aid remains extremely restricted due to requests for humanitarian access being repeatedly denied and frequent security incidents. Despite the easing of the blockade on 19 May, only a trickle of humanitarian assistance, mainly food, has entered the Gaza Strip. Bakeries remain closed, and community kitchens—though operational— are vastly inadequate to meet the scale of needs.
Meanwhile, Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) claims to have distributed over 89 million meals from four distribution sites, primarily in militarised zones along the Khan Younis–Rafah border—where less than a quarter of the population is located. However, most of the food items are not ready-to-eat and require water and fuel to cook, which are largely unavailable. Reaching these distribution points requires long, high-risk journeys, with unequal access across governorates. Operating on a first-come, first-served basis, the most vulnerable groups are largely unable to access this food.
At the same time, food consumption has sharply deteriorated, with one in three individuals going without food for days at a time. Between May and July 2025, the proportion of households experiencing extreme hunger has doubled. The food consumption threshold for Famine (IPC AFI Phase 5) has already been passed for most areas of the Gaza Strip.
Malnutrition has been rising rapidly in the first half of July and has reached the Famine threshold in Gaza City. Over 20,000 children have been admitted for treatment for acute malnutrition between April and mid-July, with more than 3,000 severely malnourished. Hospitals have reported a rapid increase in hunger-related deaths of children under five years of age, with at least 16 reported deaths since 17 July.
Immediate action must be taken to alleviate the catastrophic suffering of people in Gaza. This includes scaling up the flow of goods, restoring basic services, and ensuring safe, unimpeded access to sufficient life-saving assistance. None of this is possible unless there is a ceasefire.
Conflict continues unabated amid rising casualties and injuries
Casualties and injuries continue to steadily increase following the re-escalation of conflict since March, with a recent surge in July. As of 21 July 2025, air and ground operations expanded to the town and surrounding areas of Deir al-Balah—which until now had been largely left unscathed—forcing thousands of people to move westwards towards the sea and south to Khan Younis. Since the resumption of hostilities on 18 March over 6,200 people have been killed—and over 22,000 others seriously injured—bringing the total number of people killed since October 2023 to almost 60,000. Reports of civilians being killed while queuing at clinics or food distribution points are increasingly concerning. Between 27 May and 21 July, over 1,000 people were killed while trying to access food, the majority of whom were near militarised food Secure Distribution Sites (SDS). Just recently, on 20 July, two deadly incidents occurred, including an attack on a humanitarian convoy carrying vital food to northern Gaza that resulted in the killing of at least 73 people and more than 150 injured.
Safe spaces are becoming virtually non-existent, as the population is increasingly confined to ever-shrinking areas not designated as military zones or subject to displacement orders— primarily in Gaza City and the middle governorates.
Evacuation orders remain constant and disruptive. Since the resumption of hostilities on 18 March, 60 orders were issued and over 762,500 people have been newly displaced, including more than 25,000 people between 15 and 22 July. Over half of the recent population movements were within the same governorate, primarily within Gaza Governorate. The other movements were primarily from the northern to southern governorates, with significant flows of people moving from or to Al Mawasi in Khan Younis, and from Jabalia to western Gaza City—accounting for 40 percent of all movements. With no safe refuge available, many people are sheltering in overcrowded sites, damaged buildings, or open areas.
Humanitarian assistance is largely insufficient, and lack of access to food and other essential items remains a major concern
Since 19 May, following an 80-day blockade on entry of humanitarian aid and commercial supplies, the UN has been able to partially resume operations—albeit at a scale far below what is needed. While an estimated minimum of 62,000 metric tons (MT) of staple food is required per month to cover the basic food needs of the Gazan population; it is important to note that this does not include fresh foods such as vegetables and meat. However, according to COGAT, only 19,900 MT and 37,800 MT of food overall (including GHF supplies) entered the territory in May and June respectively—noting that no aid entered the Gaza strip between 2 March and 18 May. In addition to the drastic restrictions on the entry of supplies, humanitarian agencies have been struggling to deliver aid safely due to the presence of armed actors near convoy routes and distribution points, compounded by widespread desperation often leading to acts of looting. Official UN estimates show that only 14 percent (1,300 MT) of the 14,900 MT of official humanitarian assistance – including food (97 percent) and essential non-food items (3 percent) – that entered the Gaza Strip in June 2025 reached the distribution points. Community kitchens, a lifeline for many Gazans, continue serving meals but at a much reduced capacity. On 20 July, community kitchens were only able to serve 100,000 meals in the north and 58,000 meals in central and southern Gaza, a 30 percent reduction compared to the previous day, and about one-third of the daily average in May.
Current conditions in the Gaza Strip have prevented the delivery of principled humanitarian assistance to people in need. In late June, 25,000 people – accounting for less than 1.5 percent of the population—mainly in the south—received humanitarian food assistance from UN agencies and other humanitarian organisations for the first time in weeks. In the northern governorates, humanitarian access has been additionally constrained by the repeated closures of the Zikim Crossing. Current stocks of lifesaving and preventive nutrition supplies are expected to be fully depleted in the next month. Meanwhile, the GHF started distributing food supplies on 27 May. However, the scale-up initially foreseen from the original target of 1.2 million people monthly (57 percent of the population) has not yet materialised. Serious concerns have been raised about people’s ability to access food from the four distribution sites, which are all located in militarised areas, exposing the people to major security threats.
Catastrophic levels of food insecurity deteriorate at an alarming pace
The increase in hostilities, frequent displacements, and extremely restricted humanitarian access (from land or sea) have driven a significant deterioration in food security across the territory. The reinstated ban on fishing since 12 July further compounds the already collapsing local production, which has been severely hampered by conflict-related damages, and lack of access. With virtually no means to grow, harvest, or catch their own food, humanitarian assistance has been a lifeline for Gazans, but what makes it in and reaches people is highly insufficient. Markets are collapsing as retailers grapple with severe stock shortages, following weeks without commercial food entry. Prices of the meagre remaining food items continue to rise at an alarming rate. In June, wheat flour prices experienced extreme fluctuations, with sharp increases ranging from 1,400 percent to 5,600 percent compared to late February. Given that most of the food distributed is not ready-to eat, the dire lack of cooking gas and clean water to prepare meals is a major concern. As a result, households are increasingly forced to burn waste for cooking—exposing themselves to serious health risks.
Food diversity has collapsed to its worst level since the start of the conflict, triggering both acute and long-term consequences. While some households are not eating anything for an entire day, those who are eating are often surviving on only basic foods like bread. This has had a devastating impact on vulnerable groups (particularly children under five and PBW) reflected in the increasing prevalence of acute malnutrition. The latest data, collected remotely through Computer Assisted Telephone Interviews (CATI) in July 2025, confirm that food consumption across the Gaza Strip has reached its lowest level since the onset of the conflict. The situation has worsened dramatically, with 81 percent of households reporting poor food consumption—up from 33 percent in April—with the most severe deterioration observed in northern Gaza. A similar trend can be observed for the Household Hunger Scale with 24 percent of households experiencing very severe hunger in July compared to 4 percent in April, crossing the Famine threshold for food consumption. Most households (86 percent) reported regularly not having food to eat of any kind and nearly all (96 percent) reported that they went to bed hungry multiple times in the last month. Nearly nine out of ten households resorted to extremely severe coping mechanisms to feed themselves, such as taking significant safety risks to obtain food, and scavenging from the garbage.
Acute malnutrition surges across the Gaza Strip, reaching the Famine threshold in Gaza City
Prior to April, adults were prioritising feeding children over themselves, resulting in more than half of households with children still consuming pulses, grains, and dairy products. This coping strategy, combined with the implementation of large-scale blanket supplementary feeding programmes, appears to have mitigated a rise in acute child malnutrition despite the high levels of acute food insecurity. However, since April, this prioritisation strategy is no longer sufficient in maintaining children’s dietary diversity and nutritional status. While children’s dairy consumption has been steadily declining since January, the April-June period saw a sharp decline from 31 percent in April to 18 percent in May and 9 percent in June. Micronutrient deficiencies are likely rising rapidly alongside acute malnutrition, with dire impacts on children’s health, development, and risk of mortality.
WASH conditions are worsening at similarly alarming levels driven by the persistent lack of fuel, which hampers water purification efforts. As of June 2025, over nine out of ten households reported experiencing water insecurity. Diarrhoeal diseases are on the rise, which accounts for 39 percent of reported illnesses in July.
Access to the already degraded health services is becoming increasingly restricted due to frequent evacuation orders, which have led to the closure of health facilities and the emergence of new insecure zones. The ongoing fuel shortages are further restricting service delivery of all essential health and nutrition preventive and treatment programmes. Furthermore, the denial of entry of life-saving and preventive supplies, compounded by looting, have led to the depletion and reduced access to already limited stocks, which is shrinking day by day. This is gravely concerning, as they play a crucial role in preventing and treating malnutrition. The combined limitations on health and WASH services significantly heighten the risk of disease outbreaks across the Gaza Strip.
Between May and July 2025, acute malnutrition rates doubled in Khan Younis and increased by 70 percent in Deir al-Balah. In Gaza City, the situation is extremely critical, with the prevalence of global acute malnutrition based on MUAC soaring from 4.4 percent in May to an alarming 16.5 percent in the first half of July, reaching the Famine threshold based on GAM by MUAC. Moreover, two-fifths of pregnant and breastfeeding women were acutely malnourished in June. The situation in North Gaza Governorate, which faces similar challenges, is also a major source of concern. However, it cannot be verified due to lack of data.