NEW YORK, (PIC)
The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food, Michael Fakhri, accused Israel of using hunger as a weapon to harm and kill civilians in Gaza, affirming that the inhabitants of the region now constitute a significant portion of the world’s starving population.
The UN official also accused the countries that have halted their funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees UNRWA – based on false Israeli claims – of being complicit in the starvation issue.
In an article published by Anadolu Agency on Thursday, Fakhri said, “One in four people in Gaza is dying of hunger,” adding that he witnessed with other independent human rights experts within the United Nations system how Israel is committing genocide against the Palestinian people.
He pointed out that the people of Gaza currently make up 80% of the total persons facing famine or catastrophic hunger worldwide, emphasizing that the world has not witnessed such rapid and complete famine of the civilian population since World War II.
He added that Israel is not only making the area uninhabitable by bombing homes and civilian infrastructure but also leaves no safe place in Gaza, using hunger as a weapon to harm and kill civilians in the region.
He mentioned that on October 9th, after Hamas’s attack on the Gaza Strip two days earlier, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant ordered his forces to impose a full blockade on Gaza and prevent the entry of food, water, fuel, and medicine into any part of the territory.
He continued to say that humanitarian aid is barely flowing into Gaza, and Israel prevents the United Nations or any relief organization from delivering aid to the area.
He pointed out that 335,000 children under the age of five in Gaza are at risk of severe malnutrition, with the growing threat of famine, and due to malnutrition, an entire generation is at risk of permanent physical and cognitive disabilities, which doctors call stunting.
The UN rapporteur warned that despite the minimal amount of humanitarian aid allowed to enter, the people of Gaza still lack the necessary fuel for cooking, and most bakeries lack sufficient fuel or flour to make bread for the people.
He added, “Parents are trying to feed their children with the little remaining animal food they have, and farm animals are dying of hunger and cannot become a source of food.
Israel has imposed a blockade on Gaza since 2007, severely restricting the flow of goods. Prior to this war, due to the blockade, half of Gaza’s population suffered from food insecurity, and 80% of them were in need of humanitarian assistance, according to the article.
He concluded by saying, “The only way to end this horror is an immediate ceasefire and the provision of humanitarian aid without obstacles.”
