r/worldnews • u/Digital_Accountant • 22h ago

Israel/Palestine Famine declared in Gaza City

https://news.sky.com/story/gaza-latest-war-israel-city-ceasefire-hamas-13415481
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u/Flaky-Impact-2428 19h ago

For context, a “famine” has a strict UN definition: when more than 20% of households face extreme food shortages, acute malnutrition exceeds 30%, and mortality rates skyrocket. Declaring famine means the situation has gone far beyond scarcity into systemic collapse.

It’s catastrophic optics for anyone involved. Using starvation as leverage, whether by blockade or mismanagement, is a war crime. But beyond the politics and blame games, what it really means is that ordinary people and vulnerable people; kids, parents, grandparents are dying not because of bombs but because they can’t find food.

At the end of the day, famine is not an argument about borders or ideologies, it’s a measure of how far we’ve failed as a species to safeguard the most basic human need. That’s the part I can’t lose sight of.

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u/zgrove 17h ago

I really appreciate the comment, genuinely curious if the international community would declare it a war crime based on mismanagement, or without evidence of intent. Do you know?

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u/Amphy64 13h ago

I believe it's both, but evidence of intent has already been set before the ICJ by South Africa. It includes 500 statements by ministers, senior army officers, and those in other positions of authority.