Israel asks global hunger monitor to retract report of famine in Gaza

Jerusalem: Israel asked a global hunger monitor on Wednesday to retract an assessment that found that Gaza City and surrounding areas are suffering from famine and that it will likely spread, dismissing the report as "deeply flawed".

The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) system said on Friday that 514,000 people - close to a quarter of Palestinians in Gaza - are experiencing famine, with the number due to rise to 641,000 by the end of September.

Nearly two years into its war in Gaza, Israel has repeatedly dismissed such findings as false and biased in favour of Palestinian militant group Hamas.

The Foreign Ministry's director general, Eden Bar Tal, wrote to the IPC on Wednesday asking for a retraction of the report until the body completes a review.

“The report is deeply flawed, unprofessional, and gravely missing the standards expected from an international body entrusted with such a serious responsibility,” he wrote.

His letter said the IPC had departed from its own standards and rules, adding there were indications data was made up, cherry-picked or ignored.

"We expect the IPC to conduct an urgent and transparent review of this report that will address methodological breaches and avoid misleading the international community, the public and policymakers,” he wrote.

The IPC had no immediate comment on the Israeli letter.

The IPC - an initiative involving 21 aid groups, UN agencies and regional organizations funded by Britain, Canada, the European Union and Germany - has registered famines four times in the past - in Somalia in 2011, South Sudan in 2017 and 2020 and in Sudan in 2024.

Bar Tal said that if a new report were not presented within two weeks, Israel would continue to challenge the assessment and would ask the IPC's donors to halt their financial support.

Many European governments and international organisations have urged Israel to allow more access to humanitarian aid in Gaza.

The Israeli military's chief of staff, Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir, met on Wednesday with the UN World Food Programme's executive director, Cindy McCain. A military statement said he emphasized Israel's commitment to preventing famine and enabling humanitarian aid to reach Gazans.

The Gaza health ministry said on Wednesday 10 more people had died of malnutrition and starvation, raising deaths from such causes to 313 people, including 119 children, since the Gaza war started in October 2023.

Israel disputes death tolls issued by the health ministry in the Hamas-run enclave.