Gaza Conflict: Israel committing war crime by starving Palestine population, says UN

Israel may be using forced starvation as a “weapon of war” with to its harsh restrictions on supplies entering Gaza and its continued conflicts, the UN said on Tuesday.

“The extent of Israel’s continued restrictions on entry of aid into Gaza, together with the manner in which he continues to conduct hostilities may amount to the use of starvation as a method of war, which is a war crime,” UN rights office spokesman Jeremy Laurence told reporters in Geneva, adding that the final determination of whether “starvation is being used as a weapon of war” would be determined by a court of law.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated earlier on Tuesday that “severe levels of acute food insecurity” affect the entire Gaza population, highlighting the critical need to increase the flow of humanitarian supplies into the Palestinian enclave.

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“According to the most respected measure of these things, 100 percent of the population in Gaza is at severe levels of acute food insecurity. That’s the first time an entire population has been so classified,” Blinken told a press conference in the Philippines where he is on an official visit.

On the eve of his imminent trip to the Middle East—this time to Saudi Arabia and Egypt—Blinken made his comments regarding efforts to negotiate a ceasefire in Gaza and increase relief deliveries.

According to a food security assessment supported by the UN, half of Gazans are suffering from “catastrophic” hunger, and if immediate action is not taken, famine is expected to strike the northern part of the enclave by May.

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According to UN humanitarian director Martin Griffiths, there is “no time to lose” and Israel must provide unrestricted supplies to reach the beleaguered Palestinian region.

On October 7, Hamas launched an unprecedented onslaught on Israel, sparking the worst Gaza conflict to date. Israel retaliated in the Palestinian region controlled by Hamas with an unrelenting air campaign and ground invasion.

The UN has been warning for weeks that a famine is imminent as relief organizations report enormous difficulty entering Gaza, especially the northern half of the territory.