Hospital officials in Gaza say Israeli strikes and gunfire have killed at least 25 Palestinians sheltering in tents or seeking scarce food aid.

Famine has been determined in Gaza Governorate, where Gaza City is located, according to a warning issued Friday by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC).The report from IPC -- a global initiative monitoring hunger with the backing of governments,

Hospital officials in Gaza say Israeli strikes and gunfire have killed at least 33 Palestinians sheltering in tents or seeking scarce food aid.

Gaza City and surrounding areas are officially suffering from famine, and it will likely spread, a global hunger monitor determined on Friday, an assessment that will escalate pressure on Israel to allow more aid into the Palestinian territory.

Food-security experts said a famine has taken hold in the Gaza City area, the first-ever such determination in the Middle East and one that puts more pressure on Israel.

U.N. Humanitarian Chief Tom Fletcher said that the famine that has struck part of Gaza was preventable, blaming the "systematic obstruction" of aid by Israel and demanding that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu let supplies in on a massive scale.

Israel’s defense minister warned on Friday that Gaza City could be destroyed unless Hamas accepts Israel’s terms, as the country prepares for an expanded offensive in the area