Targeted killing of Gazans by systematic use of “starvation” lever

Mehr News, International group: one of the most important The issues that the people of Gaza have been dealing with for more than a year are hunger and lack of food. Investigations show that the Zionist regime has systematically prevented food aid from reaching this region in various ways.

committing a war crime with starvation

Using the tool of starvation in armed conflicts constitutes war crimes against humanity. The right to file a lawsuit regarding the violation of the right to food has been recognized through the International Criminal Court, the Security Council, etc. International criminal law is one of the tools for protecting human rights and humanitarian rights and reacts to serious and widespread violations of fundamental human rights. International criminal law includes the criminal liability of individuals for acts or omissions that lead to serious violations of international law. There is a close and reciprocal connection between international criminal law and international human rights and international humanitarian law, and international criminal law demands the criminal prosecution of those who violate them with definite and serious criminalization in the field of human and humanitarian rights violations.

Aid situation in Gaza

After a year of the Gaza war, the entire population of the Gaza Strip is facing hunger and disease, and almost half a million people are at risk of starvation. The main reason for this is that the military attacks of the Zionist regime have systematically prevented the entry of food, medicine, medical equipment and fuel into Gaza. The analysis of the data of the organizations active in Gaza, which was carried out by the Norwegian Refugee Council in September 2024, shows that as a result of the obstruction of the Zionist regime, 83% of the needed food aid does not enter Gaza. It is estimated that more than 50,000 children will need urgent treatment for malnutrition by the end of 2024.

Also, 65% of the required insulin and half of the required blood are not available in Gaza. Access to sanitary items has decreased to 15% of what was available in September 2023, and about one million women suffer from a lack of necessary sanitary items. Only about 1,500 hospital beds are active in Gaza. Meanwhile, in 2023, about 3,500 beds were much less than enough to meet the needs of a population of more than two million people. In addition, while an average of 69 aid trucks entered Gaza daily in August 2024, this amount was 500 trucks in 2023, which was not enough. In August 2024, more than one million people in southern and central Gaza did not receive any food rations. There are more than 36 hospitals in Gaza, of which only 17 are partially active and the infrastructure of water networks, sanitary facilities and bakeries have been completely destroyed.

The actions of the Zionist regime in violation of the right to help

During the past year, the Zionist regime has systematically hindered the provision of aid to the people in various ways and by creating conditions in Gaza:

1. By killing more than 42,000 Palestinians, nearly 300 aid workers and more than 180 journalists, the successive attacks of the Zionist regime have blocked the delivery of food and health aid.

2. The occupying regime has surrounded Gaza since 2007, and after 2023, this blockade will be complete, and this in itself will prevent the arrival of aid.

3. Delaying the movement of aid around Gaza and restricting it, which causes many of the aid to Gaza to go unused.

4. The Zionist regime strictly controls any humanitarian aid. In an interview in July 2024, Louise Wateredge, UNRWA’s communications officer, stated that there is an urgent need for a continuous and favorable delivery of humanitarian aid to enable the delivery of life-saving aid to the residents of Gaza. Describing the hardships of the relief teams in Gaza, he stated that “we are facing great difficulties in obtaining the consent of the Zionist authorities to import humanitarian aid to Gaza and deliver them.”

5- Preventing the sending of food aid to Gaza is not only done by the Zionist military, but also by many settler groups and residents of the occupied territories on the border with Gaza and the West Bank. They have prevented food trucks from reaching this area.

Result

Getting food to the people of Gaza, especially several thousand children and women in this area, has become a major problem in this area in the last year. Organizations affiliated to the United Nations have repeatedly warned in the last year that the escalation of violence in the north, south, and center of Gaza has had a disastrous effect on the food security of Palestinian families, and food distribution centers, including bakeries, have been destroyed by air and ground attacks and evacuation orders. The important point in this regard is the systematic prevention of the Zionist regime from sending food to this region.

Sajad Moradi Kalardeh; Researcher of international relations