Israel asks global hunger monitor to retract report of famine in Gaza
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Palestinians waiting to receive food from a charity kitchen in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, on Aug 21.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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- Israel requested the IPC retract its Gaza report, which stated 514,000 Gazans face famine, potentially rising to 641,000 by September.
- Israel's Foreign Ministry criticised the IPC report as "deeply flawed", alleging data manipulation and breaches of methodological standards.
- Israel threatened to challenge the assessment and request donors halt funding if a revised report isn't issued within two weeks.
AI generated
JERUSALEM - Israel asked a global hunger monitor on Aug 27 to retract an assessment that found that Gaza City and surrounding areas are suffering from famine
The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) system said on Aug 22 that 514,000 people - close to a quarter of Palestinians in Gaza - are experiencing famine, with the number due to rise to 641,000 by the end of September.
Nearly two years into its war in Gaza, Israel has repeatedly dismissed such findings as false and biased in favour of Palestinian militant group Hamas.
The Foreign Ministry’s director-general, Mr Eden Bar Tal, wrote to the IPC on Aug 27 asking for a retraction of the report until the body completes a review.
“The report is deeply flawed, unprofessional, and gravely missing the standards expected from an international body entrusted with such a serious responsibility,” he wrote.
His letter said the IPC had departed from its own standards and rules, adding there were indications data was made up, cherry-picked or ignored.
“We expect the IPC to conduct an urgent and transparent review of this report that will address methodological breaches and avoid misleading the international community, the public and policymakers,” he wrote.
The IPC had no immediate comment on the Israeli letter.
The IPC - an initiative involving 21 aid groups, UN agencies and regional organisations funded by Britain, Canada, the EU and Germany - has registered famines four times in the past - in Somalia in 2011, South Sudan in 2017 and 2020 and in Sudan in 2024.
Mr Bar Tal said that if a new report were not presented within two weeks, Israel would continue to challenge the assessment and would ask the IPC’s donors to halt their financial support.
Many European governments and international organisations have urged Israel to allow more access to humanitarian aid in Gaza.
The Israeli military’s chief of staff, Lieutenant-General Eyal Zamir, met on Aug 27 with the UN World Food Programme’s executive director, Ms Cindy McCain. A military statement said he emphasised Israel’s commitment to preventing famine and enabling humanitarian aid to reach Gazans.
The Gaza health ministry said on Aug 27 that 10 more people had died of malnutrition and starvation, raising deaths from such causes to 313 people, including 119 children, since the Gaza war started
Israel disputes death tolls issued by the health ministry in the Hamas-run enclave. REUTERS
