Tales of starvation in Gaza are spreading quickly, and much of the world is blaming Israel.
Hamas is feeding international news outlets stories about mass starvation in Gaza, resulting in slanderous accusations against Israel.
The truth is that Israel has delivered 1.9 million tons of aid to Gaza since the beginning of the war. This encompasses aid delivered by land, sea and air, and includes items such as food, water, flour, baby formula, cooking gas, shelter supplies, and medical equipment.
Only around 27% of the total amount of aid came through UN channels.
The people of Gaza only suffer because Hamas steals food and supplies from its own people. Meanwhile, Israeli hostages continue to starve at the hands of Hamas.
Deeply flawed report
On 22 August, The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), a food insecurity watchdog funded by the UK, Germany, EU and Canada, alleged that 514,000 people – close to a quarter of Palestinians in Gaza – were experiencing famine, with the number projected to rise to 641,000 by the end of September. UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy called this “utterly horrifying” and accused Israel of causing a “man-made catastrophe.”
But the report is deeply flawed. Israeli authorities argue that it relied on only half the data collected in July, which if reported fully, placed Gaza City below the famine threshold. They accuse the IPC of distorting malnutrition data, ignoring evidence of rising aid deliveries, falling food prices, and new humanitarian access measures, including daily pauses, open crossings, and repairs to utilities.
Further allegations claim the IPC invented 182 “virtual” deaths to reach the famine threshold, broke its own rules by using a prohibited MUAC (mid-upper arm circumference) standard, relied improperly on data from clinics (which is not permitted by IPC’s own rules), and hid survey results that contradicted a famine finding.
The controversy deepened when a Washington Free Beacon investigation reported the IPC quietly amended its metrics, which are used differently in other conflict zones, to inflate figures in Gaza, with heavy reliance on unverifiable sources such as the Hamas-run Gaza “Health Ministry.”
The US described the IPC report as part of a “false narrative of deliberate mass starvation” from Hamas. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Netanyahu called the report “lies” and a “modern blood libel” and claimed, “Israel does not have a policy of starvation. Israel has a policy of preventing starvation.”
Addressing international media on Wednesday, Israel’s ministry of foreign affairs director general Bar Tal claimed the report had been “forged for political purposes. No doubt the IPC manipulated and ignored data, broke its own rules and hid contradictory evidence. That report was fabricated for a purpose – to support Hamas’ fake starvation campaign.”
Starvation as an antisemitic trope
The false starvation slurs against Israel follow a dangerous antisemitic pattern.
For centuries, Jews were falsely accused of deliberately causing suffering or death to others, such as the medieval blood libel that accused Jews of poisoning wells. Portraying Jews today, in the form of the world’s only Jewish state, as intentionally starving civilians is a modern blood libel.
Secondly, the accusations go beyond criticising Israel’s military actions. Israel is not committing genocide, either by its legal definition (the attempt to wipe out a people group), by evidence and statistics, or by any intention to do so whatsoever. It is understandable to be concerned about the welfare of Gazan civilians impacted by war, but those who accuse Israel of starvation paint Israel as an evil, illegitimate state committing crimes on par with the worst atrocities, even comparing it with the Holocaust. This shifts their discourse away from criticism toward the idea that Israel itself must not exist.
Thirdly, accusing Israel of deliberately starving the people of Gaza does not help Palestinians. In fact, it is detrimental to the humanitarian cause. Rather than engaging in honest discussion about how to get food and medicine to civilians under complex war conditions, the political discourse on aid is dominated by the demonisation of Israel, casting it as an evil actor rather than an essential partner. This has been demonstrated by the international community’s lack of support for the Israel-US backed GHF, which has operated independently of the United Nations due to the UN’s proven incompetence in distributing aid. The main benefactor of this controversy has been Hamas. The terror group has taken advantage of the humanitarian slurs against Israel as another method of turning the international community against Israel. This international pressure against Israel only empowers Hamas, both morally and militarily.
Fourthly, accusing Israel of starvation impacts the Jewish community globally. Jewish communities are vulnerable to antisemitic attitudes and hostile actions, which are fuelled when these blood libels are not refuted by Western leaders. Political leaders should be condemning these slurs and presenting a defence of Israel with the facts. Much of the mainstream media is also adding fuel to the fire by carrying the Hamas narrative unchallenged. Again, this only benefits Hamas. The terror group therefore sees the power of its propaganda, providing photos of children with underlying medical conditions and staging photos of – it is all feeding global antisemitism.
If Hamas capitalises on the slur that Israel is starving the Palestinians, it makes sense that Hamas would want the Palestinians to actually starve. Hamas does not care about Palestinian lives. The sooner the world sees this, the better.
The antisemitic slur that Israel is ‘deliberately starving’ Palestinians must be challenged. For the sake of Israel, the people of Gaza, and Jewish communities worldwide, these lies must be countered with the truth.
