A UN-backed body confirms famine in Gaza City and surrounding areas, and says half a million are facing "catastrophic" conditions.

The world's leading authority on food crises says the Gaza Strip’s largest city is gripped by famine, and that it is likely to spread without an immediate ceasefire and an end to restrictions on human

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."

For an area to be experiencing famine, at least 30 percent of children under 5 must be considered acutely malnourished by height and weight measures. Using the arm circumference method, the I.P.C. said, the accepted threshold dropped to 15 percent.

"An entire population is being pushed into starvation, destitution, and death,” said Belgium's Deputy Prime Minister.

Gaza City and surrounding areas are officially suffering from famine, and it will likely spread, a global hunger monitor determined on Friday, an assessment that will escalate pressure on Israel to allow more aid into the Palestinian territory.

Food-security experts said a famine has taken hold in the Gaza City area, the first-ever such determination in the Middle East and one that puts more pressure on Israel.

US State Department largely dismisses UN report, says it's 'looking into credible reports that the IPC recently changed its definition for what constitutes a famine'