Israel has challenged a recent United Nations report declaring famine in Gaza, calling it 'fabricated' and threatening to target the funding of the hunger monitor responsible for the assessment. At a press conference, Foreign Ministry Director General Eden Bar Tal accused the food security classification system of manipulating data, relying on speculative mortality assumptions, and ignoring signs of improvement in Gaza's humanitarian situation.

Bar Tal presented evidence suggesting the report was based on incomplete data and violated the monitor's own guidelines, claiming the findings were used to support propaganda. Israel's letter to the United Nations Secretary-General demands a transparent review of the report's methodology and warns of a campaign to persuade donor countries to halt funding if the report is not retracted.

The disputed report estimated that nearly a quarter of Gaza's population is experiencing famine, with numbers expected to rise. The health ministry in Gaza has reported hundreds of deaths from malnutrition since the conflict began.