UNICEF Gaza findings ‘completely shatters’ starvation claims against Israel, State Dept says

The Trump State Department has reacted to a caller study by UNICEF connected malnutrition successful Gaza by saying it "completely shatters" the allegations that Israel deliberately starved civilians successful the Hamas-run enclave.

The outcry of disapproval comes arsenic a study utilized by the United Nations and quoted by overmuch of the world's media projected starvation successful Gaza good into June.

Following Hamas’ penetration of confederate Israel connected Oct 7, 2023, that led to the deaths of immoderate 1,200 radical and the kidnapping of 251 Israeli and overseas nationals, the Jewish authorities invaded Gaza, which led to accusations of genocide and deliberate starvation tactics utilized against Gazans.

The UNICEF-led National Nutrition Cluster study from past period was capable to scope 1,335 children nether property 5 passim 83% of the Gaza Strip to measure its hazard of malnutrition. Malnutrition rates were determined by weight-for-height Z-score (WHZ) and mid-upper-arm circumference (MUAC). Using WHZ figures, rates ranged from 0.2% successful Khan Younis and Rafah to 0.8% successful Gaza City. MUAC measurements recovered malnutrition rates ranging from 1.5% successful Gaza City to 1.9% successful Deir Al-Balah.

About 17% of the colonisation could not beryllium surveyed owed to information and operational constraints.

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION PROBES UNRWA OVER ALLEGED EMPLOYMENT OF 1,500 TERRORISTS

Palestinians successful Gaza transportation supplies dropped by Jordan and UAE aerial forces connected July. 27 (TPS-IL)

A State Department spokesperson told Fox News Digital that "UNICEF’s latest findings show different illustration that wholly shatters the countless mendacious allegations against Israel of deliberate starvation of civilians successful Gaza. There are U.N. entities, media outlets and NGOs that should retract and close their politicized and baseless attacks connected Israel – which has provided an unprecedented implicit 2 cardinal tons of nutrient into Gaza since the ceasefire."

The rates of malnutrition UNICEF documented are connected par with, oregon substantially little than, those successful immoderate neighboring countries. According to a station connected X from the Israeli Coordinator of Government Activities successful the Territories (COGAT), acute malnutrition figures successful the portion scope from 1.3% successful Gaza, Lebanon, and Turkey to 2.3% successful Jordan, 3.3% successful Egypt, 12.2% successful Syria, and 17.7% successful Sudan.

UNICEF’s study has raised ire from onlookers who took contented with the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) connection that famine was "confirmed" successful Gaza successful August 2025.

The catalyst for the uproar was the IPC's informing from August 2025 that famine had reached Gaza Governorate. At that time, the IPC estimated that 'through June 2026, astatine slightest 132,000 children nether 5 are expected to endure from acute malnutrition,' including 41,000 terrible cases wherever children would beryllium 'at heightened hazard of death.'"

The IPC is expected to merchandise a afloat study connected conditions successful Gaza "in the coming days." Prior to releasing the report, they person assessed that the Gaza Strip would beryllium successful Phase 2, the "alert" signifier for malnutrition, betwixt July and December 2026. They authorities that "74,200 children aged 6–59 months volition apt necessitate attraction for acute malnutrition done April 2027, with much than 11,400 terrible cases expected." 

UNICEF’s July study recovered that "very fewer confirmed nutrition-related deaths person been reported during treatment" successful Gaza. The IPC did not respond to questions astir UNICEF’s findings, oregon whether they stood by their anterior claims that famine had been reached successful Gaza.

HAMAS AGREES TO COMPLETE DISARMAMENT UNDER 'HISTORIC' GAZA AGREEMENT: TRUMP

WASHINGTON, DC - JULY 24: U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), joined by Palestinian rights activists, speaks astatine a property league connected nutrient assistance to Gaza, extracurricular the U.S. Capitol connected July 24, 2025 successful Washington, DC. Tlaib spoke connected the caller United Nation's study that noted implicit 1,000 Palestinians person been killed seeking assistance since precocious May, hundreds of them astatine sites managed by the Israeli and US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. (Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images) (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

The State Department spokesperson added that "the United States, successful coordination with Israel, person facilitated humanitarian assistance portion taking important steps to forestall Hamas from diverting oregon looting the aid, providing much enactment to Gazans. The President has a bold and ambitious program to rebuild Gaza, which is good underway done the efforts of the Board of Peace to facilitate disarming Hamas and guarantee it is nary longer a menace to Israel."

Andrew Fox, a elder chap astatine the Henry Jackson Society who has intimately studied the Gaza conflict, told Fox News Digital that "the caller information shows that the allegations of famine successful Gaza were axenic hysteria." He said that portion "certain tiny pockets of hunger occurred successful Gaza, we present cognize this tin lone person been an contented of distribution. Once again, planetary organizations removed Hamas and their stock of the blasted for Gaza’s suffering from the conversation, stoking the anti-Israel narrative."

Prof. Aron Troen, manager of the Nutrition and Brain Health Laboratory and teaches successful the School of Nutrition Science and the School of Public Health astatine The Hebrew University successful Jerusalem, told Fox News Digital that the UNICEF findings are "very, precise bully news." He said it was "remarkable that successful an country which was precise precocious claimed to beryllium experiencing not lone famine, but a deliberate and imposed governmental famine, that the concern has gone to the constituent that the existent measures, and astatine slightest immoderate of them, close present are amended than…other places successful the Arab world."

Palestinians transportation assistance supplies, that entered Gaza connected trucks done Israel, successful Beit Lahia, successful the bluish Gaza Strip July 29, 2025. (Ebrahim Hajjaj/Reuters)

CHRISTIAN LEADERS HOLD EMERGENCY SUMMIT IN JERUSALEM TO CONFRONT GLOBAL RISE IN ANTISEMITISM

"It’s important to authorities that if 1 wishes to instrumentality earnestly the efforts to place humanitarian request and supply an capable response, past you person to beryllium conscionable arsenic unfastened to the bully quality arsenic to the atrocious news," Troen said. He further decried "narratives" surrounding the study "that service governmental agendas." He said that if determination were the anticipation of "a gradual transportation of pragmatic bureau to a Palestinian governance successful the interests of 2 states, respect for borders, coexistence," that it "requires radical to halt throwing astir genocide, famine, and impugning 1 broadside oregon the different successful bid to summation governmental leverage."

Kurtis Cooper, Chief of Global Media astatine UNICEF, told Fox News Digital that "the caller nutrition survey measures conditions successful mid-2026, much than 9 months aft the IPC confirmed famine successful August 2025 and aft a ceasefire and important scale-up successful humanitarian assistance. It does not archer america what conditions were successful August 2025, and it was ne'er designed to."

Geneva, Switzerland - September 3, 2020: Headquarters of the Regional Office for Europe and Central Asia of the UNICEF, a UN bureau created successful 1946 to amended children's information worldwide. (iStock)

Cooper said that "in presumption of wherefore the concern has improved, during the play covered by the August 2025 IPC analysis, programmes to observe and dainty malnutrition were mostly operating, but broad supplementary feeding had mostly ceased crossed Gaza due to the fact that of terrible entree constraints and proviso disruptions. Programme information amusement a akin trend: admissions for attraction of acute malnutrition peaked astatine astir 17,000 children successful August 2025 earlier falling to astir 3,100 by May 2026."

Cooper did not reply questions astir however WHZ rates measured successful Gaza comparison to those successful different countries experiencing wide quality suffering.

IDF forces are seen operating successful Rafah, a metropolis successful the Gaza Strip. (IDF Spokesman's Unit)

In May, UNICEF reported that successful Sudan, "almost 100,000 children were admitted for attraction for terrible acute malnutrition" betwixt January and March. UNICEF estimated that 825,000 children nether 5 would acquisition terrible acute malnutrition successful Sudan successful 2026.

Andrew Fox called connected "leading organizations" to "offer a nationalist and afloat retraction of their error-strewn papers." He explained that "their mistakes person paved the mode for an detonation successful planetary antisemitism, and these organizations indispensable ain their roles successful that and marque amends arsenic loudly arsenic possible."

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

According to the J7 Large Communities’ Task Force Against Antisemitism, 2025 was the deadliest twelvemonth for antisemitic attacks astir the satellite since 1994.