Famine was officially declared Friday in part of northern Gaza, including Gaza City , by the world's leading authority on hunger as Israel vowed to raze the area if Hamas doesn't agree to its terms.

The declaration of famine by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification , or IPC, comes as deaths from starvation rise across the Palestinian enclave in a spiraling crisis under Israel's military assault and aid restrictions.

Israel's military is preparing to push ahead with a new operation to seize Gaza City that could displace hundreds of thousands of people and worsen the dire situation there. It has launched intense strikes on the city this week after announcing it had begun the first stage of its planned assault.

Famine declared

The IPC, an internationally-recogniz

See Full Page