Famine declared in Gaza City; Israel vows military takeover if Hamas doesn't agree to ceasefire terms

Famine was officially declared Friday in part of northern Gaza, including Gaza City, by the world's leading authority on hunger as Israel vowed to destroy the area if Hamas doesn't agree to its terms.

Famine was officially declared Friday in part of northern Gaza, including Gaza City, by the world's leading authority on hunger as Israel vowed to raze the area if Hamas doesn't agree to its terms.

The declaration of famine by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, or IPC, comes as deaths from starvation rise across the Palestinian enclave in a spiraling crisis under Israel's military assault and aid restrictions.

Israel's military is preparing to push ahead with a new operation to seize Gaza City that could displace hundreds of thousands of people and worsen the dire situation there. It has launched intense strikes on the city this week after announcing it had begun the first stage of its planned assault.

The IPC, an internationally recognized system for classifying food insecurity and malnutrition, said in its report that famine had been confirmed in the Gaza Governorate — and that it was projected to expand to the Deir al-Balah and Khan Younis Governorates farther south by the end of September if the humanitarian situation does not change.

The number of people now experiencing famine in Gaza was nearly 514,000, the IPC said — around a quarter of the enclave's population. That was projected to rise to 641,000 by the end of September.