All UN Security Council members except the US have issued a joint statement on Friday's declaration of a famine in Gaza, following the release of a report by the UN-backed Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC). Trishala Simantini Persaud, Guyana’s Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN, read a joint statement at the press conference. She said, “We express our deep concern and sadness at the IPC data on Gaza released last Friday. These data clearly and conclusively confirm the existence of famine in Gaza. We have confidence in the IPC’s work and methodology. This is the first official confirmation of famine in the Middle East. More and more people are dying of malnutrition every day, many of them children. The report that famine will spread to Deir al-Balah and Khan Younis by the end of September is of grave concern to us. At the same time, 1.5 million people across the Gaza Strip face acute and crisis food insecurity.”
“This is a man-made crisis”
Emphasizing that the acute level of malnutrition among children in Gaza is disturbing, Persaud said, “We note that the risk of at least 41,000 children dying from malnutrition by June 2026 is increasing. This is a man-made crisis. The use of hunger as a tool of war is clearly prohibited under international humanitarian law. The famine in Gaza must be ended immediately. International humanitarian law must be respected, and Security Council resolution 2417 of 2018 must be implemented.” A
joint statement issued with the participation of representatives of the council’s 14 members also said, “Time is of the essence. The humanitarian emergency must be addressed without delay, and Israel must change its current policy.” Addressing the press conference, Slovenia's Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN, Ondina Blokar Drobic, said, "
We call for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire
. We demand the immediate, honorable, and unconditional release of all hostages held by Hamas and other groups. We demand a comprehensive increase in humanitarian assistance throughout Gaza."
"Meeting these needs is a priority for the United States."
US Ambassador to the UN Dorothy Shea questioned the credibility and integrity of the IPC report at today’s Security Council meeting on Gaza. Shea said, “We all recognize that hunger in Gaza is a real problem and that there are serious humanitarian needs that must be met. Addressing these needs is a priority for the United States.”
The UN-backed Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) report officially declared a “famine” in Gaza last Friday and warned that the situation was expected to spread. The IPC system had estimated that 514,000 people, approximately one-quarter of the Palestinian population in Gaza, were experiencing famine, and that this figure would rise to 641,000 by the end of September.
Israel calls for retraction of report declaring a famine in Gaza
Israel has called for the retraction of the IPC report, claiming its findings are biased and inaccurate. Israel, claiming that the data was supplied by Hamas, claimed that the report did not take into account the recent influx of food into Gaza.
