What is a famine and who declares one?

Famine is now occurring in Gaza City, according to the world’s leading authority on food crises.

- By LAURA UNGAR and JAMEY KEATEN

The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification released an analysis Friday, saying more than half a million people in Gaza are trapped in famine, suffering widespread starvation and preventable deaths.

It’s the first time the IPC has confirmed a famine in the Middle East, where Israel has been in a brutal war with Hamas since the militant group’s Oct. 7, 2023 attack.

People in Gaza rely almost entirely on outside aid to survive because Israel’s military offensive has wiped out most capacity to produce food inside the territory.

“I am speechless that in 2025, we are facing starvation on the planet,” said Dr. Mark Manary at Washington University in St. Louis, an expert on childhood malnutrition. “It's got to be a wake-up call.”

Manary said if food were made widely available, it would take around two or three months for the region to recover from the famine.

Here's a look at what famine means and how the world finds out when one exists.

What is famine?

“Famine is, in plain language, not having enough to eat,” Manary said.