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‘Weapon of war’: Israeli-imposed famine chipping away at Palestinian lives
The imposition of a tightened blockade on the ingress of basic essentials into the Gaza Strip, destruction of food infrastructure, such as bakeries, mills, and food stores as well as a widespread scarcity of medicines, pharmaceuticals and life-saving supplies has led to the starvation of more than half a million people and a broader humanitarian crisis in the war-ravaged area.
Palestine’s official news agency WAFA reported on Saturday that a 13-year-old Palestinian had lost his life due to starvation in the central Gaza Strip following the Israeli closure of the Rafah border crossing to international humanitarian aid.
The teenager, identified as Abdul Qader al-Sarhi, succumbed to death in al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir al-Balah.
Local medical sources were cited by WAFA as saying that the death toll from malnutrition and dehydration has risen to 37 in the Gaza Strip as Israel presses ahead with its brutal aggression on the southern city of Rafah.
“The health situation in the Gaza Strip has gone from bad to worse, with the [Israeli] military offensive expanding in the city of Rafah and all its hospitals being out of service,” the sources said. “The announced toll reflects only what reaches hospitals while dozens are dying silently as a result of famine, without being able to reach hospitals.”
Fayez Abu Ataya, a seven-month-old Palestinian infant, also starved to death on Thursday in central Gaza due to the lack of milk and medicine as a result of Israel’s strict blockade.
Resembling a bare skeleton, Fayez was filmed succumbing to starvation and dying in his father’s arms at the same hospital in Deir al-Balah.
During a press conference in the West Bank city of Ramallah on Wednesday, Palestinian NGOs and professional unions stated that the Gaza Strip had turned into a “famine-stricken zone.”
Seventy international rights organizations had earlier called on relevant authorities and global institutions in a joint statement to formally recognize a famine in the besieged Palestinian territory.
The Geneva-based Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor and the Cairo-headquartered Arab Organization for Human Rights were among the rights bodies, which made the call amid alarming reports of widespread famine in the territory.
The rights organizations said in their joint statement that food insecurity was escalating within the Gaza Strip, underscoring Israel’s use of starvation tactics as a “weapon of war” against the Palestinian people.
They called on Israel to act immediately to implement the precautionary measures announced by the International Court of Justice regarding the opening of the Rafah crossing to provide basic services and much-needed humanitarian aid for the people of in the Gaza Strip, especially in its northern region, which is grappling with severe shortages.
Even the aid reaching the southern region of the enclave has been insufficient, particularly with the displacement of over 1.3 million people from northern Gaza to the south, notably to Rafah, as result of the occupation’s months-long onslaught.
Israel’s barbaric bombardment campaign against the Gaza Strip, which has since October last year targeted hospitals, residences and houses of worship, has so far left at least 36,379 Palestinians dead, most of them women and children, and 82,407 others injured.