The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Wednesday issued a formal demand to the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) to retract its recent report on Gaza, accusing the organization of fabricating a politically motivated assessment.
MFA Director General Eden Bar Tal sent a letter to the IPC, asserting that the report, released on August 22, falsely claimed that famine thresholds had been crossed in Gaza City. According to the letter, the IPC's findings were based on "made-up data," methodological violations, and deliberate manipulation of statistics to align with Hamas propaganda.
"Israel categorically rejects the report's methodology and conclusion," wrote Bar Tal. "The report is deeply flawed, unprofessional, and gravely missing the standards expected from an international body entrusted with such a serious responsibility. What emerges is not a scientific analysis but the selective use and manipulation of data, to reach a predetermined conclusion in order to support Hamas propaganda and the fake 'starvation' campaign."
The letter cites a number of alleged faults in the IPC report:
1. Use of made-up data that does not exist.
2. Breach of IPC’s own standards and rules.
3. Cherry-picking of data.
4. Hiding data that contradicts the predetermined conclusion.
5. Ignoring data that does not support the narrative of famine.
The methodological issues identified in Israel’s preliminary analysis, available for public review, claim the report’s classification of famine in Gaza City rests on a two-step distortion of existing data:
- Misrepresenting partial July data as evidence of both a breach in the Global Acute Malnutrition (GAM) threshold and a sharp upward trend.
- Using this manufactured "exponential rise" to inflate mortality analysis, inferring deaths more than thirty times higher than reported, despite credible evidence showing mortality well below famine levels and most likely declining.
The letter further states that the IPC took a controversial decision to use the 15% GAM rate based on Mid-Upper Arm Circumference (MUAC) as the famine (Phase 5) threshold, basing this on a highly dubious analysis that has drawn significant criticism from the scientific community.
Additionally, the IPC is accused of omitting information by failing to consult with or receive feedback from Israel during the analysis process—contrary to its practices in most other contexts.
"This is not an error. It is methodologically indefensible and substantively misleading, designed to fit a conclusion. It discredits the IPC process and risks undermining