Israel has systematically obstructed food entering Gaza, aid agencies say, as a UN-backed body confirms a famine.

The UN-backed IPC says more than half a million Palestinians facing catastrophic famine conditions amid Israel’s war.

Despite outrage from its allies, the White House has not commented on a report that found famine in Gaza. Analysts say that without U.S. pressure, Israel’s war will not likely change course.

An announcement of famine — as has now happened regarding Gaza — is a complicated decision. Here's what must be considered before such a declaration is made.

A United Nations-backed body declared a famine in Gaza for the first time since the Israel-Hamas war broke out almost two years ago, a finding likely to intensify international calls for a ceasefire and accelerated delivery of aid.

After a UN hunger monitor on Friday declared for the first time that famine had struck northern Gaza, Israel vehemently denied the reports as “lies” and “modern blood libel,” and the United States appeared to dismiss the declaration as part of a “false narrative of deliberate mass starvation” from Hamas.