Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Monday accused Israel of intentionally starving the civilian population in the Gaza Strip, citing comments from high-ranking officials and interviews with displaced Palestinian people. According HRW using starvation of civilians as a method of warfare, goes against international humanitarian law and constitutes collective punishment. The group charged that as the occupying power in Gaza, Israel is responsible for the population getting food and medical supplies.
Only homemade bread to eat: the suffering of the families displaced as a result of the ongoing Israeli war on Gaza (Photo: WAFA)
As well as food and medicine, the statement accused Israel of shutting down wastewater and desalination facilities via fuel and electricity outages. According to the Ministry of Health in Gaza, between 7 October and 18 December afternoon, at least 19,453 Palestinians were killed in Gaza. About 70 per cent of those killed are said to be women and children. As of then, about 52,286 Palestinians have been injured. Many people are missing, presumably buried under the rubble, waiting for rescue or recovery.
Between December 3 and December 12, the World Food Programme, an international organization within the United Nations that provide food assistance worldwide, conducted a rapid food security assessment, following the significant deterioration of the food security situation in the south of Gaza, following the large influx of displaced people with the resumption of hostilities on December 1. Very severe hunger levels were reported in 44 per cent of respondent households, compared with 24 per cent in a previous assessment conducted on 27-30 November. The proportion of displaced households reporting members going to sleep hungry at night increased from 34 to 50 per cent of all assessed households. The acute shortage of cooking gas has led to heavy dependence on firewood, wood residues, and waste burning, raising the risk of respiratory diseases. The food security situation in the northern governorates of Gaza is believed to be significantly worse.
“Israeli forces are deliberately blocking the delivery of water, food, and fuel, while willfully impeding humanitarian assistance, apparently razing agricultural areas, and depriving the civilian population of objects indispensable to their survival,” HRW charged in a statement. Among other comments, the statement cited Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on October 9, two days after the Hamas murderous rampage in southern Israel, announcing that he had ordered “a complete siege on the Gaza Strip. There will be no electricity, no food, no fuel, everything is closed.”
“For over two months, Israel has been depriving Gaza’s population of food and water, a policy spurred on or endorsed by high-ranking Israeli officials and reflecting an intent to starve civilians as a method of warfare,” HRW’s Israel and Palestine director, Omar Shakir, said in the statement. “World leaders should be speaking out against this abhorrent war crime, which has devastating effects on Gaza’s population.”
The Human Rights Watch statement included quotes from Gazans describing the humanitarian situation in the Strip between November 24 and December 4. The UN estimates 1.9 million people in Gaza have been displaced, while aid groups fear the territory will soon be overwhelmed by starvation and disease. The HRW statement also called on “concerned governments” to apply pressure on Israel “to end these abuses,” singling out the US, the UK, Canada and Germany for giving military assistance to Israel while “its forces continue to commit widespread and serious abuses amounting to war crimes against civilians with impunity.”
The statement came as the United Nations Security Council was set to vote on a draft resolution later Monday that calls for an “urgent and sustainable cessation of hostilities to allow safe and unhindered humanitarian access in the Gaza Strip” and the “immediate and unconditional release of all hostages.”
Last week, the UN General Assembly overwhelmingly passed a nonbinding resolution demanding an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza and the immediate, unconditional release of all hostages. The UNGA’s 193 members voted overwhelmingly for a ceasefire, with 153 in favor — exceeding the 140 or so countries that have routinely backed resolutions condemning Russia for its invasion of Ukraine.
The full HRW report:
https://www.hrw.org/news/2023/12/18/israel-starvation-used-weapon-war-gaza
Related: https://maki.org.il/en/?p=31452
