Gaza Famine: Saudi Arabia Condemns Israeli Genocide Crimes, Int’l Community Inaction
Saudi Arabia has voiced its “deep concern” over the official declaration of famine in the Gaza Strip, according to a statement released by the Saudi Foreign Ministry.
This followed an assessment by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) on Friday, which determined that Gaza City and the surrounding areas are officially enduring famine that will likely spread across the entire enclave.
Gaza Famine: A Mark of Shame
The Saudi Foreign Ministry expressed the Kingdom’s deep concern over the IPC declaration of famine in the Gaza Strip, condemning the “genocide crimes” of Israeli forces against defenseless civilians.
Saudi Arabia also affirmed that the exacerbation of the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza is a direct result of the lack of deterrence and accountability mechanisms for the repeated Israeli crimes.
The statement added that the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza will remain a “stain on the conscience of the international community,” particularly the permanent members of the UN Security Council, unless it takes immediate action to end the famine and stop the war of genocide and crimes committed by Israel against the Palestinian people.
Hunger Spreading in Gaza
For the first time outside of Africa, the IPC declared that 514,000 people in the Gaza Strip – about a quarter of the enclave’s population – are “facing catastrophic conditions characterized by starvation, destitution and death.” Around 280,000 of those people are in the Gaza governorate – a northern region covering Gaza City.
By the end of September 2025, this number is projected to rise to 641,000 people as famine will likely spread to central and southern areas of Deir al-Balah and Khan Younis. The IPC report estimated that the conditions in North Gaza Governorate could be worse than in Gaza Governorate due to access restrictions and limited data.
Famine Determination
The IPC is an initiative comprising 21 aid groups, UN agencies and regional organizations. It receives funding from European Union, Germany, Britain and Canada, according to Reuters. The IPC has declared famine four times in the past: in Somalia in 2011, South Sudan in 2017 and 2020, and in Sudan in 2024.
Famine classification is based on three conditions: at least 20% of people have extreme lack of food, at least 30% of children suffer from acute malnutrition, and two people out of every 10,000 dying daily from starvation or malnutrition and disease.
The data analysis, conducted from July 1 to August 15, clearly shows that the thresholds for starvation and acute malnutrition have been met in Gaza.
UN Condemnation
Following the IPC report, the UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, described famine in Gaza as a “man-made disaster, a moral indictment, and a failure of humanity itself.” He urged for an immediate ceasefire, the release of all hostages, and unfettered humanitarian access.
The UN human rights chief, Volker Turk, pointed out that deaths from starvation could amount to a war crime, while the UN humanitarian chief, Tom Fletcher, criticized Israel’s restrictions on aid flow to the Strip.
“It is a famine that we could have prevented had we been allowed. Yet food stacks up at borders because of systematic obstruction by Israel,” he said.
Meanwhile, the vice president of global policy and advocacy at Mercy Corps aid agency, Kate Phillips-Barrasso, voiced disappointment that the IPC report was not legally binding.
“We have photos, we have clear data, and now we have this assessment, yet it still hasn’t translated into the urgent action needed to stop people from starving,” she said.
Israeli Denial
Commenting on the report, Israel blasted the IPC findings as “false and biased,” accusing the IPC of basing its survey on partial data provided by Hamas and ignoring Israel’s recent steps to expand the flow of food into the Strip.
Moreover, the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, called the IPC report an “outright lie,” denying hunger in Gaza. “Israel does not have a policy of starvation. Israel has a policy of preventing starvation. Since the beginning of the war Israel has enabled 2 million tons of aid to enter the Gaza Strip, over one ton of aid per person,” he said in a statement on X.
Similarly, the US State Department questioned the findings of the report, accusing Hamas of looting aid to Gaza and “systematically promoting a false narrative of deliberate mass starvation to put political pressure on Israel,” a spokesperson said.
