Famine confirmed in northern Gaza, according to a U.N.-backed agency

WBUR | By Here & Now Newsroom

Published August 22, 2025 at 11:47 AM EDT

United Nations-backed experts say more than half a million people in northern Gaza are experiencing a full-blown famine. Their report finds hundreds of thousands could die from starvation as the famine spreads to other areas.

NPR’s Jane Arraf joins us.

This article was originally published on WBUR.org.

Related Content

Famine is declared in Gaza: What does it take to make this pronouncement?

Nurith Aizenman

An announcement of famine — as has now happened regarding Gaza — is a complicated decision. Here's what must be considered before such a declaration is made.
Intel will give the U.S. government a 10% stake, Trump says

John Ruwitch

The president's highly unusual announcement underscores the Trump administration's desire to take control over U.S. businesses.
Kilmar Abrego Garcia released from federal custody pending criminal trial

Ximena Bustillo

The case of Abrego Garcia, a Maryland man originally from El Salvador, raised basic questions of due process in Trump's crackdown on undocumented immigrants after he was arrested and sent to a maximum security prison in El Salvador, violating a U.S. immigration judge's 2019 order prohibiting his deportation to his home country.
Release of Uvalde school shooting documents raises questions for victims' families

Jerry Clayton

Family members of the victims of the 2022 Uvalde school shooting where 19 students and two teachers died, recently got a look at newly released files from the Uvalde Consolidated School District and Uvalde County from the day of the shooting. More than three years after the tragedy, their suffering lingers without answers to their questions about how the security protocols failed that day.
Justice Department releases transcripts from its conversations with Ghislaine Maxwell

Carrie Johnson

Maxwell spoke with top DOJ officials over the course of two days in late July. Asked about President Trump, she said she had never witnessed him "in any inappropriate setting in any way."

You make NHPR possible.

NHPR is nonprofit and independent. We rely on readers like you to support the local, national, and international coverage on this website. Your support makes this news available to everyone.

Give today. A monthly donation of $5 makes a real difference.