🌍 Not Hunger. Not Shortage. Famine in Gaza — Declared at Last.

For the first time, the global authority on famine confirms the truth Palestinians and activists have been saying all along.

🚨 Quick Note Before You Read

Sisters and brothers, this is exactly why our work matters. While politicians and media outlets argued over semantics, children in Gaza were literally starving to death. This space is one of the few left on earth where we can say that plainly. 👉🏽 Please become a paid subscriber today.

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🟥 The Word They Refused To Say

For nearly a year, we have watched Gaza descend into hunger unlike anything we’ve ever seen in modern history. It’s a completely artificial, optional, man-made famine, imposed by Israel, funded by the United States, and protected by most of the world.

Parents are boiling grass and weeds. Mothers are feeding their children animal feed. Families are grinding up dried corn husks. Children’s arms are shrinking down to the width of sticks. And still, the governments of Israel, the United States, and much of Europe denied it.

They admitted “food shortages.” They admitted “malnutrition.” They used softer words like “emergency” and “crisis.” They admitted the images were horrific, but they would not use the one word that would force the world to face what was happening. They refused to say famine. Why? Because it’s a legal word with serious legal implications.

Now, that denial has collapsed. The IPC Global Initiative, the most respected international body that defines and classifies food crises, has formally declared that famine is occurring in Gaza. The declaration states: “As of 15 August 2025, Famine (IPC Phase 5)—with reasonable evidence—is confirmed in Gaza Governorate. Over half a million people in the Gaza Strip are facing catastrophic conditions characterised by starvation, destitution and death.”

After 22 months of relentless war, displacement, and blockade, the catastrophe is no longer disputed. It is written down, measured, confirmed.

Gaza is in famine.

Here is their full report for you to see for yourself (click on the image).

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❓Who is the IPC?

The IPC — short for the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification — is the world’s singular authority on defining and declaring famine. It is not a political group, not an activist network, but a global scientific initiative backed by the United Nations, governments, and humanitarian agencies.

The IPC uses a strict evidence-based framework to measure hunger, malnutrition, and mortality, classifying conditions from Phase 1 (Minimal) to Phase 5 (Famine). For an area to be declared in famine, all three catastrophic thresholds must be crossed: at least 20% of households face extreme food deprivation, at least 30% of children are acutely malnourished, and at least two out of every 10,000 people die each day from starvation or related disease. These definitions are designed to cut through politics and propaganda. When the IPC says “famine,” it means starvation, death, and collapse at the highest level of international law and humanitarian consensus.

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⚖️ What “Famine” Means

It’s important to understand the weight of this word. “Famine” is not a metaphor. It is not an activist slogan. It is a formal classification under international law.

Again, to be meet the legal definition of famine for the IPC, three thresholds must all be crossed. At least 20 percent of households must face extreme, life-threatening lack of food. At least 30 percent of children must suffer from acute malnutrition. And at least two out of every 10,000 people must be dying each day from starvation or starvation-related disease. This is not an editorial decision. It’s literally just math.

The IPC review makes it clear: “The convergence of widespread malnutrition, micronutrient deficiencies, lack of access to healthcare, deteriorating water, sanitation and hygiene conditions, and surging child diseases mirrors the established combination of factors that lead to death in Famine conditions.”

That is where Gaza is today. Those are the numbers. This is not “hunger.” This is starvation, destitution, and mass death.

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🩸 The Human Cost

The declaration paints a devastating picture. More than 641,000 people — nearly a third of Gaza’s population — are already in famine conditions. Another 1.14 million are in Emergency and nearly 400,000 more are in Crisis. This means virtually the entire population is in survival mode.

The IPC projects that 132,000 children under the age of five will suffer acute malnutrition through June of next year. That includes more than 41,000 severe cases, children whose bodies are wasting away to the point of imminent death. Nearly 55,500 pregnant and breastfeeding women are already malnourished and need urgent support.

Between May and July, acute malnutrition tripled in Gaza Governorate. In Deir al-Balah and Khan Younis, it doubledand is projected to reach famine thresholds by late September. In other words, this isn’t just about the north. The entire Strip is collapsing.

And the mortality data we do have is almost certainly an undercount. Gaza’s health system has collapsed. Many deaths are never reported or recorded. But the report makes it clear: “Mortality among the population in Gaza Governorate is assessed to have reached the famine threshold. Deir al-Balah and Khan Younis are projected to reach similarly critical levels by late September.”

Behind these numbers are children whose bellies are bloated with hunger. Infants who cannot cry because their bodies don’t have the energy. Mothers who cannot breastfeed because they themselves have no food. Families who are starving slowly while the world debates.

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🚧 Starvation by Policy

The IPC makes something else clear. This is not an earthquake. It is not a flood. It is not a natural disaster. This famine is entirely man-made.

The food system in Gaza has been deliberately destroyed. Ninety-eight percent of cropland is gone. Livestock have been wiped out. Fishing has been banned. Bakeries and community kitchens have been closed. Flour prices have soared more than 3,000 percent since February.

Humanitarian convoys were halted completely in March and April. When some aid finally resumed in the summer, most of it never reached the people. According to the report, “Aid deliveries have been severely disrupted—with 87 percent of UN trucks reportedly intercepted—reflecting the extreme desperation of the population.”

Water has collapsed. Health has collapsed. Ninety-six percent of households have no reliable access to clean water. Disease is spreading everywhere. Diarrhea, fever, infections — all raging among children whose bodies are too weak to fight them off. The IPC warns that this deadly combination of starvation, disease, and collapsed healthcare is exactly what defines famine.

This is not a failure of logistics. This is not an accident of war. This is starvation used as a weapon.

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📣 A Historic Declaration

The IPC’s Famine Review Committee has now been called to examine Gaza’s case five separate times. Never before in history has the committee been called back so many times for one place. Each time, they reviewed the data, and each time they found that the crisis was worsening.

Their conclusion now is stark. Famine is here. It is spreading. And it is entirely man-made.

The committee’s statement says it bluntly: “As this Famine is entirely man-made, it can be halted and reversed. The time for debate and hesitation has passed, starvation is present and is rapidly spreading.”

They warn that every day of delay will lead to a surge in avoidable deaths. They call for an immediate ceasefire and unobstructed humanitarian access. Without it, they warn, “avoidable deaths will increase exponentially.”

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✊🏽 What It Means for Us

This declaration is more than a technical assessment. It is an indictment. It proves beyond doubt that Israel, backed by the United States, has crossed another red line of international law.

Under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, deliberately using starvation of civilians as a weapon of war is a war crime. That is what this is. That is what famine means.

And it is a moral indictment of every politician who denied this was happening. Every senator and member of Congress who parroted Israeli talking points. Every journalist who minimized the word famine, who told us it was too early to say. They were wrong.

Activists in Gaza who risked their lives to get images out were right. The mothers holding their starving babies were right. The people in tents begging for flour were right.

Now the world has to decide: will it act? Or will it look away as tens of thousands of children die from hunger?

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❤️ Why This Space Matters

Sisters and brothers, I know these numbers are overwhelming. They are heavy. 132,000 children projected to be malnourished. Half a million already starving. But remember: famine is not inevitable. It is a choice. And it can be stopped.

But platforms like Instagram and Twitter have already tried to silence me for saying these truths. They banned my account. They deleted my posts. They don’t want this message to spread. That is why this community matters. This is one of the last places left where we can tell the truth about Gaza without fear of being erased.

The New York Times has twelve million subscribers. CNN has millions more. But we are building something different — a platform they cannot control. We now have just over 2,400 paid members. Our goal is to reach 2,500 and then 3,000.Every new member makes us stronger, more stable, more able to keep publishing the truth the world is trying to hide.

👉🏽 Please become a paid subscriber today.

Because famine is not just a humanitarian failure. It is a political crime. And if we don’t tell that story here, no one will.

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Love and appreciate each of you.
Your friend and brother,
Shaun King

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