By Burak Bir
LONDON (AA) - European countries and UN agencies on Friday once again urged Israel to allow sufficient humanitarian aid delivery in the Gaza Strip after a UN-backed hunger monitoring system confirmed that there is famine in the besieged enclave.
The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) said early Friday that "as of Aug. 15, 2025, famine (IPC Phase 5)—with reasonable evidence—is confirmed in Gaza Governorate," one of the five governorates in the Gaza Strip, where Israel has killed more than 62,000 people since October 2023.
The head of the World Health Organization (WHO) warned that in light of the famine, even mild illnesses are becoming deadly in Gaza.
"This man-made, widespread malnutrition means that even common and usually mild diseases like diarrhoea are becoming fatal, especially for children," Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on US social media company X.
Hadja Lahbib, the European commissioner for equality, preparedness, and crisis management, urged Israel to give "unimpeded" humanitarian access into Gaza as famine is now a "reality" in the Palestinian enclave.
"Famine is a reality in #Gaza, now confirmed by @theIPCinfo report. People are dying from starvation," she wrote on X.
In a statement, a quartet of UN agencies – the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), UNICEF, the WHO, and World Food Program (WFP) – also reiterated their call for an immediate ceasefire and unhindered humanitarian access to curb deaths from hunger and malnutrition.
Irish Taoiseach (prime minister) Micheal Martin said the Gaza famine was both predictable and preventable, urging Israel to stop its attacks on the besieged enclave.
"Following confirmation of famine in Gaza City for the first time by the UN-backed IPC, Israel has an absolute obligation to allow the people there unfettered and urgent access to humanitarian aid, medical and food supplies," said Martin in a statement.
- 'Man-made catastrophe'
British Foreign Secretary David Lammy also denounced the "utterly horrifying and … wholly preventable" famine newly confirmed in Gaza, saying Israel's refusal to allow sufficient aid has caused this "man-made catastrophe."
"The Government of Israel can and must immediately act to stop the situation deteriorating any further," he said in a statement.
Tanja Fajon, Slovenia’s foreign minister, said that dying due to starvation is a "harsh reality" for people in Gaza.
“Famine is the new phase of hell Gaza faces in this man-made catastrophe. This has to stop," she said on X.
John Swinney, Scotland’s first minister, stressed that families and children are dying of starvation, and that this is not just a tragedy, labelling it "genocide in plain sight."
"There must be an immediate ceasefire, urgent aid into Gaza, and sanctions on Israel," he said.
"I think there is no doubt that there is hunger in Gaza,” Josef Hinterseher, a German Foreign Ministry spokesman, told a press briefing in Berlin when asked about the newly confirmed famine.