The United Nations officially declared a famine in Gaza on Friday sparking an immediate war of words as Israel published a counter-report blaming Hamas for the 'deliberate and cynical exploitation' of aid.
The famine was declared by experts at the Rome-based IPC, who said it affected 500,000 people in the Gaza governorate, which covers about a fifth of the Palestinian territory including Gaza City.
The UN officials accused Israel of the 'systematic obstruction of aid', an allegation the country has angrily denied - with the foreign ministry saying the report was 'based on Hamas lies laundered through organisations with vested interests'.
Israel, which has consistently claimed the terrorist group loots aid, has denied altogether that there is a famine in Gaza, with the foreign ministry accusing the IPC of changing its own global standard - cutting the 30% threshold to 15% for this report only.
Meanwhile, the IPC projected that famine would expand to Deir el-Balah and Khan Yunis governorates by the end of September, covering around two-thirds of Gaza.
