Palestinians are struggling to access food due to Israel's blockade and ongoing attacks on the Gaza Strip.

Famine is occurring in Gaza, the leading global tracker of food insecurity announced on Friday, pointing to “catastrophic” conditions for more than half a million Palestinians — including tens of thousands of children edging toward death via acute malnutrition — largely because of Israeli policies enabled by extensive US support.

The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) is officially applying the famine classification to Gaza for the first time since the nearly two-year Israeli campaign there began, saying famine is confirmed in the governorate, including Gaza City, the region Israeli forces are preparing to target in a new offensive. The IPC, considered the gold standard for tracking hunger, is a consortium that includes 21 United Nations agencies and major nongovernmental aid groups.

In September, famine is expected to expand to two other governorates, Deir al-Balah and Khan Younis, it added. The group noted it was unable to secure data about north Gaza, one of the hardest-hit areas during the war. The IPC also noted that the number of children under five who could die by starvation has doubled since its last projection in May; it now anticipates that at least 132,000 will be in that category by June 2026. It described the deterioration among Palestinians as the most severe it has recorded anywhere in the world since its founding in 2004.

The finding represents a chilling milestone for the war. While warnings of mass hunger and fatal starvation in the region spread, US and Israeli officials have mostly ignored extensive pleas to end policies........

© HuffPost