Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has strongly rejected a United Nations-backed report declaring famine in Gaza City, calling it an 'outright lie'. The report, published by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, warned that starvation is rapidly spreading and described the crisis as 'entirely man-made', urging for a ceasefire to allow humanitarian aid.

Foreign Secretary David Lammy described the findings as 'utterly horrifying' and called on Israel to allow more aid into Gaza, blaming the Israeli government's restrictions for the catastrophe. Meanwhile, Israeli officials disputed both the famine declaration and civilian casualty figures, insisting that aid has been allowed into the Strip and denying accusations of targeting civilians.

The United Nations secretary-general, Antonio Guterres, echoed concerns over the situation, labeling it a 'man-made disaster' and a 'failure of humanity'. The debate over the famine classification has intensified, with Israel's Foreign Ministry accusing the report's authors of lowering the threshold for declaring famine due to limited data.