The Gaza Famine Myth

[Richard D]

How lazy journalism, bad data, and skewed statistics fueled accusations of war crimes against Israel.

“Gaza Is Starving,” a headline in The New Yorker declared in early January 2024, pushing a harrowing narrative that took hold during the first six months of the war. In March, The Washington Post asked: “Is Gaza Heading Into Famine?” A headline in the Post the next day answered: “Israel’s War on Hamas Brings Famine to Gaza.”

In April 2024, Samantha Power, director of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) for the Biden administration, became the first senior U.S. official to declare that famine in Gaza had begun. She cited a report published by an independent, United Nations–affiliated monitoring system, called the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification Global Initiative (IPC).


But there were serious problems with Power’s sensational testimony. Foremost among them: The IPC never declared a famine in Gaza. The report she cited was a projection of possible outcomes, not a conclusive finding. The next month, USAID issued its own analysis alleging that famine was underway, an indictment so serious that it required confirmation from an independent board of global experts known as the Famine Review Committee (FRC).

https://www.thefp.com/p/the-gaza-famine-myth

[hedda_foil]

1. Even Eretz Israel propagandizes.

[Richard D]

2. Of course. Can you name a government that doesn't?

That said, Israel is notoriously horrible at propaganda and is losing the propaganda war, as can be seen by your comment.

I would invite you to debunk any of the items listed in the post, if you can.

This post is not from Israel, by the way. It's investigative journalism from the Free Press.

Something I find curious (and a bit disgusting) is how readily so many are willing to believe the propaganda coming directly from Hamas, and are so unwilling to call anything that is in defence of Israel "Zionist propaganda." It's almost like, well, antisemitism in action. Isn't it?

[applegrove]

3. They have pictures of little kids with bloated stomachs

in hospital in May 2025, in Gaza.

[Beastly Boy]

5. A somewhat ambiguous response to believing the propaganda coming directly from Hamas.

Who re "they"? How many kids? What was their diagnosis? What is the direct connection between the pictures and the lies about the famine covered in the OP?

[twodogsbarking]

4. Sounds like Republicans trying to convince us.

[Beastly Boy]

6. Sounds like investigative journalism trying to comvince us.

Oh well, too bad for the facts.