A new report from Israel's Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) and the Foreign Ministry accuses a United Nations-backed food security panel of issuing a biased and methodologically flawed declaration of famine in Gaza. The Israeli review challenges the findings of the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification's (IPC) Famine Review Committee, which on August 22, 2025, declared that Gaza City had met the criteria for famine.
The IPC's designation was the first of its kind in the Middle East. However, the Israeli report contends that the IPC's conclusions are based on flawed analysis and questionable neutrality.
Claims of Flawed Methodology and Data
The Israeli review claims the IPC's Famine Review Committee used selective and inconsistent data. It specifically points out that the panel allegedly ignored improved food security figures from July 2025.
Additionally, the Israeli report challenges the IPC's use of mid-upper arm circumference measurements to assess malnutrition rates, arguing that this method inflated the numbers and is not the standard weight-for-height ratio typically used for such designations. The report also states that mortality data in Gaza does not meet the established thresholds for a famine declaration.
