United Nations Secretary General António Guterres on Friday delivered one of his sharpest condemnations yet of the ongoing catastrophe in the Gaza Strip, describing the situation as a “man-made disaster” and a “living hell” for millions of Palestinians trapped under Israeli siege.

His remarks came in response to a damning report by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), the world’s leading food crisis authority, which confirmed that famine has been ongoing in Gaza Governorate — home to Gaza City — since August 15. The declaration marks an alarming escalation in the humanitarian crisis, underscoring that Israel’s blockade has pushed the civilian population into conditions of mass starvation.

“The crisis is not a mystery,” Guterres wrote on X, pointing to the deliberate nature of the famine. “It is a man-made disaster, a moral indictment and a failure of humanity itself.”

Israel’s Legal Responsibility Ignored

The UN chief reminded the international community that, under international law, Israel, as the occupying power, bears full responsibility for the survival of Gaza’s besieged population. “We cannot allow this situation to continue with impunity,” he warned, stressing that the deliberate deprivation of food and medicine constitutes a grave breach of humanitarian law.

His remarks highlight what Palestinians and rights groups have long insisted: that starvation is being weaponized as part of Israel’s ongoing genocidal war on Gaza. Since early this year, Israel enforced a near-total blockade on humanitarian supplies, choking off food, fuel, and medicine to 2.3 million people. Although limited aid has been allowed in under mounting international pressure, relief agencies unanimously agree that the trickle of supplies is grossly insufficient to prevent famine.

Famine by Design

The IPC report, built on rigorous data, confirms what aid workers on the ground have documented for months: children collapsing from hunger, families boiling grass to survive, and hospitals overflowing with malnourished patients. At least hundreds of thousands of children are now at imminent risk of starvation.

Despite this, Israeli leaders have openly admitted to using starvation as a weapon of war. Senior ministers in Tel Aviv have repeatedly declared that “no food, no water, no electricity” would be allowed into Gaza until Palestinians submit — statements that human rights experts say amount to genocidal intent.

Gaza: The World’s Conscience Test

For Palestinians, the famine declaration is not simply a technical classification but a political indictment of the international community’s failure to act. Guterres’s acknowledgment that this is a “man-made” atrocity underscores that responsibility lies squarely with Israel and with those who enable its crimes through silence and complicity.

Palestinian organizations welcomed the UN chief’s statement but warned that words must be followed by concrete measures: lifting the siege, holding Israel accountable, and mobilizing an emergency international operation to deliver food and medicine to Gaza without delay.

As famine tightens its grip, Gaza has become the ultimate test of global conscience. For the Palestinian people, who have endured displacement, bombardment, and siege for decades, the declaration of famine is yet another chapter in a long history of suffering under occupation. Yet it is also a rallying cry for humanity: a reminder that starvation is not an accident of war but a deliberate crime — one that demands justice. (ILKHA)