Israel will demand the retraction of a report by the UN-backed Integrated Food Security Classification (IPC) that declared a famine in Gaza, a senior Foreign Ministry official said Wednesday.

“Israel is demanding “The IPC must immediately retract its report containing falsehoods,” Foreign Ministry Director-General Eden Bar Tal told reporters, denouncing the organization as “politicized.” Bar Tal said Israel will share “evidence” of misconduct in the report with IPC contributors if the organization does not pay attention “shortly.” She also called the IPC a “politicized” institution that “works for an evil terrorist organization,” referring to the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, whose 2023 attack on Israel sparked the ongoing war in the Gaza Strip. The United Nations officially declared a famine in Gaza on Friday, the first to hit the Middle East, after its experts warned that 500,000 people were in a “catastrophic” situation Israel rejected the decision, saying it was in response to “lies by Hamas—a group considered. a terrorist group by the EU—whitewashed by vested interests.” Following months of warnings of famine in the war-torn territory, the Rome-based UN Integrated Food Security Classification (IPC) confirmed a famine was underway in Gaza governorate. “After 22 months of incessant conflict, more than half a million people in the Gaza Strip are facing catastrophic conditions characterized by hunger, destitution, and death,” the UN said. The worst is in northern Gaza, particularly Gaza City, home to one million people and against which Israel is preparing a new military offensive.