Western governments and the United Nations really want you to believe there’s a life-threatening famine and mass starvation in the Gaza Strip, despite the enormous amounts of aid entering the coastal enclave every day.

The problem is that the official metrics used for determining famine and starvation don’t support that narrative.

So the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) quietly altered its metrics.

According to a Washington Free Beacon investigation, the IPC’s July assessment ditched long-established metrics based on weight and height (used globally for decades) and opted for a less accurate, easier-to-manipulate measurement: mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC). Just as notably, it also cut the required malnutrition threshold in half — from 30% to just 15%.

Suddenly, Gaza crosses the new line. Coincidence?

Veteran humanitarian experts are sounding alarms. “Pretty big shift,” said one. Another put it plainly: “This is an issue.”

The irony is thick: media outlets and UN affiliates now shout “famine” — but not because Gaza’s situation crossed the old threshold. It didn’t. They simply moved the goalposts.

Let’s be clear: Gaza is suffering. But facts matter. Of the three regions surveyed:

• Gaza City showed 16.5% malnutrition under the new metric — barely over the revised threshold.
• Deir al-Balah and Khan Younis came in under 8% — not even close to the new threshold, let alone the old official standard of 30%.

Yet, suddenly, the famine narrative is rolling like thunder. Why?

A convenient crisis

The global media machine thrives on imagery, not methodology. A few carefully framed statistics — stripped of context and paired with emotive headlines — are enough to indict Israel before the court of public opinion.

The IPC says its data is “indicative,” not definitive. But the damage is done. “Famine” becomes a weapon. And its targets aren’t the gunmen hoarding aid — it’s the one country actually trying to get food in without letting Hamas dictate the terms.

This isn’t a story about child malnutrition. It’s a story about institutional credibility — and what happens when international bodies bend metrics to fit a narrative.

Israel doesn’t fear accountability. But it will never get a fair shake if the deck is consistently stacked against it.

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