en public specific orginal article <div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:10.0pt"><span style="line-height:107%"><span new="" roman="" style="font-family:" times="">Background:</span></span></span></b><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:10.0pt"><span style="line-height:107%"><span new="" roman="" style="font-family:" times=""> The Tigray war, characterised by the deliberate targeting of food systems, created a severe humanitarian crisis. However, empirical evidence on household-level food security during the conflict is limited. This study aimed to examine the food security status and coping mechanisms of households during the war. <b>Method:</b> Primary data were collected from 219 households from the Hawzien district, which were randomly chosen from three peasant associations within the district. Furthermore, data were collected from a household survey and focus group discussions. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics and thematic analysis. <b>Results:</b> The findings reveal a catastrophic level of food insecurity: 94.1% of households were classified as food-insecure. To survive, households resorted to negative coping strategies, most notably relying on less preferred foods (97.2%), selling productive assets (90%), and consuming seed stock intended for planting (62.5%). <b>Conclusion: </b>The war has not only caused immediate, widespread food insecurity but has also forced households into survival strategies that actively erode their productive base and long-term resilience.</span></span></span></div> Food security, Food coping strategy, Tigray war, Thematic analysis 313 321 http://jnfs.ssu.ac.ir/browse.php?a_code=A-10-1543-1&slc_lang=en&sid=1 Gebremichael Gebretinsae gebremicheal87@gmail.com 0009-0008-5939-547X) Yes Tigray Bureau of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Tigray, Ethiopia Alemu Addisu 0000-0001-7532-6353 No College of Dryland Agriculture and Natural Resources, Agricultural Economics and Rural Development, Mekelle University, Ethiopia. Gebrehiwot Weldegebrial 0000-0002-7296-7451 No College of Dryland Agriculture and Natural Resources, Agricultural Economics and Rural Development, Mekelle University, Ethiopia Aregawi Beyene 0009-0009-5494-529X No College of Dryland Agriculture and Natural Resources, Agricultural Economics and Rural Development, Mekelle University, Ethiopia