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A top official within the Biden administration has now said that a famine is

During congressional testimony, Samantha Power, the director of the US Agency for International Development, said, “A famine has already begun,” echoing the urgent warnings from humanitarian aid groups about the severe scarcity of food, water, and essential supplies in the area.

This situation was also highlighted further when Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-TX) questioned Power regarding reports of her agency alerting the National Security Council about the famine. In response, Power referenced a finding from the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification initiative, affirming its credibility and stating, “That is — yes,” when asked directly if famine was indeed occurring.

A recent report by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification initiative last month indicated that famine was “imminent” in parts of northern Gaza. Following this, some US media outlets citing unnamed Biden administration officials disclosed that officials from the US Agency for International Development had warned the National Security Council that famine was happening in Gaza, with expectations of hunger-related deaths increasing rapidly.

This comes as Cindy McCain, the World Food Programme’s executive director, stressed on CNN’s “State of the Union” that Gaza was on “the edge” of a “cliff” that would lead to famine, making it almost impossible to recover from. These calls have led to the United States and other countries demanding Israel allow more humanitarian aid to Gaza.