Deaths attributed to starvation in Gaza rose sharply between 2023 and 2025, according to figures released by local health authorities, amid the ongoing war and restrictions on supplies entering the territory.
In the first three months of the war in late 2023, four deaths were officially linked to starvation.
The number increased to 49 in 2024, before surging to 422 in 2025, marking a dramatic year-on-year rise.
The Gaza Health Ministry said that of those who died in 2025, about 40 percent were over the age of 60 and nearly 35 percent were children. Cases of severe malnutrition among children under five reportedly climbed from 2,754 in January 2025 to 14,383 by August.
Michael Fakhri, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food, said in August
2025 that the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, the global system used to assess famine, often applies strict and cautious thresholds. He stated that conditions in Gaza met the technical criteria for famine and that warnings were raised as soon as child deaths began to occur.
Legal experts cited by rights groups argued that the situation went beyond food insecurity and fulfilled the formal definition of famine, though such designations are often subject to lengthy procedural assessments.
AJE