UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher said Friday that the confirmation of famine in Gaza is "a moment of collective shame" at a press briefing.

"It is a famine that we could have prevented, if we had been allowed," he said. "It is a famine that must spur the world to more urgent action. That must shame the world to do better."

The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) committee, responsible for determining the presence of famine, confirmed on Friday that famine is currently occurring in Gaza and is projected to expand to Deir al-Balah and Khan Younis cities in the coming weeks. IPC warned that by the end of September, nearly a third of Gaza's population – more than 640,000 people – could face catastrophic hunger, with another 1.14 million at emergency levels.

At the press briefing in Geneva, Fletcher said: "Please read the IPC report, cover to cover. Read it in sorrow and in anger. Not as words and numbers but as names and lives. Be in no doubt that this is irrefutable testimony."

"My ask, my plea, my demand to (Israeli) Prime Minister (Benjamin) Netanyahu and anyone who can reach him: Enough. Ceasefire. Open the crossings, north and south, all of them. Let us get food and other supplies in, unimpeded and at the massive scale required," said the UN humanitarian chief.

'Man-made' disaster

The IPC announcement triggered a UN reaction led by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

"Just when it seems there are no words left to describe the living hell in Gaza, a new one has been added: 'famine,'" he said in a statement while visiting Expo 2025 Osaka in Japan.

"This is not a mystery, it is a man-made disaster, a moral indictment and a failure of humanity itself," he said, noting that famine is not only about food, but also the deliberate collapse of the systems needed for human survival.

As the occupying power, Israel has unequivocal obligations under international law, including the duty of ensuring food and medical supplies for the population, said Guterres, adding that this situation could not be allowed to continue with impunity.

Philippe Lazzarini, Commissioner-General of UNRWA, also said the crisis was "by design and man-made," blaming Israel for blocking food and other basic supplies, including UN aid, for months.

Israel rejected the IPC findings. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office called the report "an outright lie," saying Israel "does not have a policy of starvation" but rather "a policy of preventing starvation."

Gaza's Health Ministry said 273 people, including 112 children, have died from starvation and malnutrition since the war began.

Israel tightened its blockade on Gaza after the collapse of a ceasefire with Hamas on March 2, sharply curbing food, fuel and humanitarian aid deliveries.

Dutch Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp, who had faced criticism after proposing a possible trade ban on products from Israeli settlements in a letter to parliament, resigned on Friday. He announced his decision in The Hague following a meeting of the Council of Ministers.

"I see that I cannot take sufficiently meaningful additional measures to increase pressure on Israel," Veldkamp told reporters. He added that while the Netherlands had "nothing to be ashamed of," he had encountered persistent opposition within the cabinet to his push for tougher policies regarding Gaza City and the West Bank.

Ongoing offensive

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said that multiple strikes were reported overnight in the Jabalya al-Balad and An Nazla neighborhoods, adding that as strikes continue to intensify across the strip, casualties are flooding hospital emergency departments.

Humanitarian partners monitoring population movements in Gaza reported around 900 people had fled, heading toward the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood and western Gaza City, said the office.

OCHA said the United Nations and its partners warned of the catastrophic consequences that the intensification of the ongoing offensive in Gaza City would have for civilians, reminding relevant parties to the conflict of their obligations under international law to protect civilians, including humanitarian workers and those who cannot or choose not to move.

The office said that those fleeing must be allowed to do so safely, to return if they wish and as the situation allows. It reiterated the urgency of ensuring people's access to aid and basic services, whether they leave or stay.

Humanitarian partners working in health care said that nearly half of all hospitals and field hospitals in Gaza City account for 40 percent of the total inpatient bed capacity in Gaza. Expansion of military operations would further cripple the collapsing health care system.

(With input from Xinhua)