BBC News again uncritically promotes an IPC report

In March 2024 the BBC began covering reports put out by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) as part of the advancement of the narrative of starvation and famine in the Gaza Strip.

CAMERA UK has repeatedly observed that there is no evidence to suggest that the BBC carried out any independent assessment or verification of the IPC’s claims and methodologies before widely promoting its reports. The failure to do so in relation to the August 2025 report declaring famine in Gaza City is particularly remarkable given that the corporation continued to refer to the findings weeks later, despite the fact that the predictions fortunately failed to materialise.

As was noted here in October 2025:

“On October 9^th Sky News reported that the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry claimed that 461 people had died from malnutrition in the two years since the beginning of the war, including 192 since the IPC declared famine on August 22^nd. Under actual famine conditions, the expected number of deaths during that period of time would be 9,522.

Remarkably, that discrepancy has been of no interest whatsoever to the BBC, which continues to promote the famine narrative (along with the no less redundant ‘genocide’ libel) on a regular basis.”

Hence, when the latest IPC report appeared on December 19^th, BBC audiences were not aware that the August 22^nd IPC report was based on problematic methodology or that its claim of famine was unsupported by the data.

Nevertheless, the BBC News website published a report on the same day that is headlined “UN-backed experts say Gaza food supplies improving but 100,000 still in ‘catastrophic conditions’” and illustrated with a photograph taken over four months earlier.

Those choosing to read beyond the headline of that report by Yolande Knell and Doug Faulkner – which, notably, does not link to the IPC report itself – would discover that the “100,000 still in catastrophic conditions” actually refers to the time period between October 16^th and November 30^th. [emphasis added]

“UN-backed experts say there have been improvements in nutrition and food supplies in Gaza since the ceasefire, but 100,000 people still experienced “catastrophic conditions” last month.” […]

The latest IPC analysis suggests that a month ago, half a million Gazans were still facing emergency conditions and more than 100,000 were still under the highest level of food insecurity – IPC Phase 5 – experiencing “catastrophic conditions”.

It projects that number will continue to decrease but stressed the situation remains “highly fragile”.”

Remarkably, Knell and Faulkner fail to adequately clarify to their readers that the number of people “still in catastrophic conditions” since December 1^st is, according to the IPC report’s projection, 1,900 rather than 100,000.

Knell and Faulkner tell their readers that:

“The IPC said acute malnutrition was at critical levels in Gaza City and serious in Deir al-Balah and Khan Younis.”

They however fail to inform BBC audiences that, as reported by the Times of Israel:

“The new IPC report also failed to include consolidated, weighted data on malnutrition rates in Gaza with which it would be able to evaluate its claims from August that famine had broken out in the Gaza governorate.

Such data is readily available from the Global Nutrition Cluster organization, which monitors malnutrition on the ground around the world, including in Gaza, and which has found that malnutrition rates never crossed famine levels even in July and August, and actually remained 23 percent under that level even at the peak of food insecurity.

The IPC itself uses Global Nutrition Cluster data in its reports, including in the latest update on Gaza, but failed to show the consolidated, weighted data used by that organization.

According to consolidated, weighted malnutrition data from the Global Nutrition Cluster’s State of Palestine department, malnutrition peaked in July and August, and then steadily improved in September, October and November.”

Knell and Faulkner continue:

“The IPC said key drivers of food insecurity included restricted humanitarian access, displacement of more than 730,000 people and the destruction of livelihoods – including more than 96% of crop land in Gaza being destroyed or inaccessible.

Israel imposed a total blockade on aid deliveries to Gaza at the start of March this year, which was eased in May, saying it wanted to put pressure on the armed group Hamas to release hostages remaining in Gaza at the time.”

Readers are not told that prior to the cessation of aid deliveries between March 2^nd and May 19^th, elevated quantities of aid entered the Gaza Strip. Neither are they informed that the claim of “restricted humanitarian access” does not reflect reality.

While the BBC’s report briefly quotes responses to the latest IPC report from Israel’s foreign ministry and COGAT, readers are not provided with links to the statements provided by those bodies.

Perhaps the most interesting aspect of Knell and Faulkner’s report is its failure to revisit the IPC’s August 2025 claims and predictions of famine in light of its latest report. Moreover, they promote the following statement claiming that “Gaza” is “no longer in famine” without clarifying that in fact, the criteria for declaring famine never existed.

“Unwra, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, said that while, the report stated Gaza was no longer in famine, the situation remained “critical”.”

In line with the past twenty-one months of BBC coverage of the IPC, Knell and Faulker display no interest whatsoever in informing readers of the problematic methodology that lies behind this latest report. As noted by Jeremy Sharon:

“It [the IPC] also stood by a determination it made in August that a full-blown famine had broken out in Gaza, despite hard data demonstrating that malnutrition levels never reached the famine threshold, and again failed to provide mortality data anywhere in the vicinity of famine levels.

Several analysts have argued that the new study repeats previous flaws and has failed to use appropriate data, and that this erroneous factual basis has again led the IPC to conclusions about the food security situation in Gaza that are not reflective of reality.”

Once again it is clear that the BBC is far less interested in providing its worldwide audience with accurate and impartial information on the topic of food security in the Gaza Strip than it is in blindly promoting a politically motivated narrative.