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."

The world’s leading food insecurity authority has officially declared famine in Gaza, after officials finally determined that Israel’s almost two year long, near-total blockade on the 2 million Palestinians in the Strip has created conditions so horrific they surpass those needed for a famine declaration.

Famine has been confirmed for the first time in an area of the embattled Gaza Strip, according to the international authority responsible for monitoring food security. In a report released on Friday,