Middle East: IPC officially declares famine in Gaza as conditions worsen

• Famine officially declared in Gaza for first time by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC)

• Israel's says there is no famine in Gaza

• Israel's Katz says 'gates of hell' will open on Hamas in Gaza City

• Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu approves renewed ceasefire talks

Here are all the headlines from Israel, Gaza and the wider Middle East on Friday, August 22:

Israel says Gaza City will be destroyed if Hamas doesn't disarm

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz warned on Friday that Gaza City would be completely destroyed if Hamas does not agree on Israel's conditions for ending the war, which include the release of all hostages and complete disarmament.

"Soon, the gates of hell will open upon the heads of Hamas's murderers and rapists in Gaza — until they agree to Israel's conditions for ending the war," Katz posted on X after operational plans for military action in Gaza City were approved.

Katz added that if Hamas militants did not agree to the terms, Gaza City would end up like the cities of Rafah and Beit Hanoun, which have been largely razed by Israeli bombing since the start of the war in October 2023. Hamas has rejected disarming as part of a ceasefire deal.

Gaza City is one of the last places in the entire Palestinian enclave that still has basic operating infrastructure.

Israel's plans to take over Gaza City have been widely condemned as exacerbating an ongoing humanitarian crisis among Palestinians in the territory, while potentially endangering the lives of the remaining Israeli hostages held by Hamas militants.

Katz said the plans include relocating Gaza City's residents, which number around 1 million plus hundreds of thousands of people displaced from other parts of Gaza.

Humanitarian organizations have said another mass displacement of Palestinians is unfeasible, since other areas of the enclave have been largely destroyed and there are not enough operational medical facilities outside of Gaza City.

The operational plans for the Gaza City offensive were approved Thursday after a meeting of the Israeli Security Council.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said Hamas militants are continuing to organize attacks from Gaza City, and the military mission is to destroy the militant's stronghold while pushing to rescue the remaining hostages, of which around 20 are believed to still be alive.

Starvation, destitution and death grip Gaza, UN-backed assessment says

Parts of Gaza are now experiencing famine, marked by widespread starvation, destitution and death, according to the latest report from the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC).

More than half a million people are facing the most severe, or "catastrophic," levels of food insecurity, the UN-backed assessment found.

This is the first time a famine has been officially confirmed in the territory.

Over 1 million people, more than half the population, are in an emergency situation, while nearly 400,000 are in crisis, the report said.

Conditions are expected to worsen between mid-August and the end of September, with famine projected to spread to Deir al-Balah and Khan Younis.

After a global outcry at Israel's severe restrictions on aid from March, the Israeli military began allowing a limited amount of food into Gaza in late July.

The findings come as Israel has renewed military operations in Gaza City.

Welcome to our coverage

On Thursday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced a plan to capture Gaza City and floated the idea of fresh ceasefire negotiations with Hamas.

On Friday morning, his defense minister threatened to open "the gates of hell" if the militant group doesn't agree to Israel's conditions for ending the war in Gaza.

Meanwhile, the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), the world's leading hunger monitor, has officially declared a famine in parts of Gaza.

We'll be covering reactions to all of this, along with other developments from across the Middle East, right here in this blog.

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