JERUSALEM: Israel’s foreign ministry said there is no famine in Gaza, responding to a report on Friday from a global hunger monitor that said famine had struck an area of Gaza and would likely spread over the next month. “Over 100,000 trucks of aid have entered Gaza since the start of the war, and in recent weeks a massive influx of aid has flooded the Strip with staple foods and caused a sharp decline in food prices, which have plummeted in the markets,” the Israeli ministry said in a statement.

A U.N.-backed food security group has issued a dire warning: famine has officially now taken hold in northern Gaza and is expected to spread in the coming months.

A UN-backed report has confirmed that there is widespread famine in Gaza, the first time a famine has been declared in the Middle East. Israel immediately rejected the findings.