Famine was declared on Friday in parts of the Gaza Strip, with more than half a million Palestinians facing “starvation, destruction and death,” according to a warning released by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC).

"Just when it seems there are no words left to describe the living hell in Gaza, a new one has been added: 'famine,'" United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres said in a post on the social platform X on Friday morning.

"This is not a mystery — it is a man-made disaster, a moral indictment and a failure of humanity itself," he said, adding that Israel "has unequivocal obligations under international law" to ensure food and medical supplies reach people in Gaza.

"The time for action is not tomorrow — it is now. We need an immediate ceasefire, the immediate release of all hostages and full, unfettered humanitarian access."

The IPC — an initiative supported by non-governmental organizations, the United Nations and governments — determined more than half a million Gazans are facing Phase 5 conditions, the highest classification.

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