The IPC, a global body that monitors hunger crises, says 22 months of war in Gaza have left half a million people facing "starvation, destitution and death." Israel calls it "lies."

"An entire population is being pushed into starvation, destitution, and death,” said Belgium's Deputy Prime Minister.

The world's leading authority on food crises says the Gaza Strip’s largest city is gripped by famine, and that it is likely to spread without an immediate ceasefire and an end to restrictions on humanitarian aid.

Gaza City and surrounding areas are officially suffering from famine, and it will likely spread, a global hunger monitor determined on Friday, an assessment that will escalate pressure on Israel to allow more aid into the Palestinian territory.

Famine has struck an area of Gaza and will likely spread over the next month, a global hunger monitor determined on Friday.

For an area to be experiencing famine, at least 30 percent of children under 5 must be considered acutely malnourished by height and weight measures. Using the arm circumference method, the I.P.C. said, the accepted threshold dropped to 15 percent.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz warned that Gaza city could "turn into Rafah and Beit Hanoun" unless Hamas agrees to Israel's terms.

Conditions in Gaza City are expected to worsen and, while a ceasefire could come, so could a huge military assault.