In a week marked by harrowing testimony and mounting international concern, the head of the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) delivered an urgent warning: famine is gripping Gaza, and the crisis is deepening by the day. Cindy McCain, executive director of the WFP, visited the battered Palestinian territory earlier this week, witnessing firsthand the stark reality of hunger among women and children. Her assessment was blunt and deeply personal. "I personally met mothers and children who were starving in Gaza," she told The Associated Press. "It is real and it is happening now."
McCain’s visit comes as the world’s leading authority on food crises, the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), officially declared that Gaza City and its surrounding areas are suffering from famine—a verdict Israel vehemently disputes. According to Reuters, the IPC’s latest report, released August 28, 2025, estimates that approximately 514,000 people—nearly a quarter of Gaza’s population—are facing famine conditions. The report warns that, without a ceasefire and the lifting of restrictions on humanitarian aid, famine is likely to spread further across the territory by the end of September.
Despite these dire warnings, the flow of aid remains a contentious issue. The Israeli military agency responsible for coordinating humanitarian deliveries, known as COGAT, insists that more than 300 humanitarian aid trucks now enter Gaza every day, with the vast majority carrying food. Yet, aid groups and the WFP argue this is nowhere near enough after 22 months of relentless conflict, devastating blockades, and the near-total collapse of Gaza’s food production systems. McCain told Reuters, "We're getting a little bit more food in. We're moving in the right direction ... but it's not nearly enough to do what we need to do to make sure that people are not malnourished and not starving."
For many Gazans, the situation is beyond desperate. Sami al-Ashram, a 52-year-old waiting at a soup kitchen in Gaza City, described his daily struggle: "I ask the people in charge of aid to increase the aid (supply) so that we can eat and live ... Some rice is not enough for us." According to the Palestinian Health Ministry in Gaza, more than half of the nearly 63,000 people killed since the war began have been women and children. The ministry, which is part of the Hamas-run government but staffed by medical professionals, is considered by the United Nations and independent experts as the most reliable source for war casualties, even as Israel disputes its figures and has not provided alternatives.
The humanitarian crisis is inextricably linked to the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, which erupted following the militant group’s deadly October 7, 2023, attack. That assault left around 1,200 people dead—mostly civilians—and led to the abduction of 251 hostages. The war has since raged for 22 months, with Israel now planning to seize Gaza City and other Hamas strongholds. Despite international mediation efforts, there has been no visible progress toward a ceasefire. Egypt and Qatar, acting as mediators, are currently awaiting Israel’s response to a 60-day ceasefire proposal accepted by Hamas. The plan, according to Arab mediators cited by the Associated Press, calls for a two-month halt in fighting in exchange for the release of 10 living hostages and the return of the bodies of 18 others, alongside an Israeli withdrawal to a buffer zone in Gaza.
McCain’s tour of Gaza included visits to Deir al-Balah and Khan Younis, where she encountered displaced families living in tents and children suffering from severe malnutrition. "What we saw was utter devastation. It's basically flattened, and we saw people who are very seriously hungry and malnourished," she recounted to Reuters. She emphasized that while there has been a modest improvement in getting commercial food and supplies into Gaza—helping to bring down prices—most people still cannot afford basic necessities. Her plea is clear: "We need to be able to get deep into it (Gaza) so we can make sure that they can consistently have what they need."
During her visit, McCain also met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Israeli military’s chief of staff, Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir. Both sides reportedly agreed to redouble efforts to expedite and sustain the entry of humanitarian goods into Gaza, given the dire needs on the ground. Netanyahu, who has in the past dismissed claims of famine as a Hamas propaganda campaign, was described by McCain as "obviously very concerned that people aren’t getting enough food." According to statements from both the WFP and Netanyahu’s office, they concurred on the necessity to "immediately redouble our efforts to get more humanitarian aid in. Access and security for our convoys is critical."
Yet, the gulf between international assessments and Israeli government statements remains wide. Israel has repeatedly dismissed the IPC’s famine findings as biased in favor of Hamas, and on August 27, formally asked for the report to be retracted. The IPC, however, is widely regarded as the "gold standard" for measuring food insecurity, according to McCain. The WFP itself is currently able to deliver about 100 aid trucks per day into Gaza—a far cry from the 600 trucks daily that entered during a two-month ceasefire that ended in mid-March 2025.
The United Nations’ top official, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, has not minced words about the severity of the crisis. He called the famine in Gaza "a present-day catastrophe" and warned that the expansion of Israeli military operations marks "a new and dangerous phase" with "devastating consequences" for civilians. "Gaza is piled with rubble, piled with bodies, and piled with examples of what may be serious violations of international law," Guterres said. He further asserted that Israel, as the occupying power, has obligations to protect civilians, facilitate far greater humanitarian access, and meet essential needs. The systematic dismantling of systems providing food, water, and healthcare, Guterres added, "are the result of deliberate decisions that defy basic humanity."
The conflict’s reverberations are being felt beyond Gaza’s borders. On August 28, Israeli airstrikes targeted Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, in response to attacks by Iran-backed Houthi rebels, who have launched missiles and drones toward Israel and targeted shipping in the Red Sea for over 22 months. The Houthis have said their actions are in solidarity with Palestinians, further complicating the regional security picture.
As the world watches, the fate of Gaza’s civilians hangs in the balance. The next steps—whether they involve a surge in humanitarian aid, a breakthrough ceasefire, or continued hostilities—will determine whether the region can avert an even greater tragedy. For now, the voices from Gaza, the warnings from international agencies, and the pleas from humanitarian leaders like Cindy McCain echo with a singular urgency: more must be done, and quickly, to save lives.