Amnesty International has accused the Israeli occupation of committing a systematic crime by pursuing a deliberate policy of starvation against the residents of the Gaza Strip, as part of a clear strategy aimed at destroying the health of Palestinians and undermining the fabric of their society.

Gaza: tens of thousands of children at risk

In a new report published by Agence France-Presse (AFP), the organization said that recent field testimonies provided compelling evidence that the deprivation of Palestinians of food, medicine, and humanitarian aid is not random, but rather a deliberate policy that the Israeli occupation has been implementing since the start of the ongoing war on the Strip.

Amnesty International added that these testimonies “represent a stark indictment of the international system that has granted Israel near-total impunity for decades,” noting that the silence of the international community has allowed crimes against civilians to continue without accountability.

Amnesty International affirmed that starvation in Gaza is being used as a weapon of war, which amounts to a crime against humanity under international law, noting that the deliberate deprivation of food, water, and medicine exacerbates the catastrophic health situation in the Strip and threatens the lives of hundreds of thousands of civilians, especially children, disabled, and older people.

The organization called for the immediate and unconditional lifting of the blockade on the Gaza Strip, ensuring the safe and adequate delivery of humanitarian aid, and imposing a permanent ceasefire to end the worsening humanitarian tragedy.

Unprecedented

In the same context, the government media office in Gaza revealed shocking figures illustrating the scale of the humanitarian disaster, confirming that more than 40,000 infants under the age of one are suffering from severe malnutrition that threatens their lives with gradual death, while more than 100,000 children and patients are suffering from severe malnutrition, which threatens to cause a widespread tragedy.

The office explained that the occupation continues to prevent the entry of baby milk, nutritional supplements, and hundreds of other essential items, including frozen meat and vegetables, exacerbating the humanitarian crisis and increasing rates of malnutrition and deadly diseases among the most vulnerable groups.

These reports come at a time of increasing UN warnings of the risk of unprecedented famine in Gaza, with humanitarian organizations reporting that the vast majority of the population is suffering from food insecurity amid a complete collapse of health infrastructure and basic services.

Featured image via the Canary