Amnesty Int’l Accuses “Israel” of Starving Palestinians As Death Toll from Hunger Rises

By Staff, Agencies

Five more Palestinians, including two children, have died of hunger over the past 24 hours in the Gaza Strip, where a rights group says “Israel” is enacting a "deliberate policy" of starvation against Palestinians.

In a statement released on Monday, the Gaza Health Ministry said the five new deaths bring to 263 the total number of people who have starved to death in the besieged territory during “Israel’s” 22-month genocidal war. It added that 112 children are among the fatalities.

Meanwhile, Amnesty International said “Israel” is “carrying out a deliberate campaign of starvation in the occupied Gaza Strip, systematically destroying the health, well-being and social fabric of Palestinian life.”

In a report citing testimonies of displaced Palestinians and medical staff who treated malnourished children, it noted that hunger is the “intended outcome” of “Israeli” policies and “part and parcel” of the entity’s ongoing genocide in Gaza.

More than 109 aid groups have called for action against “Israel”, warning that “mass starvation is spreading” across the besieged Gaza Strip.

Erika Guevara Rosas, Senior Director for Research, Advocacy, Policy and Campaigns at Amnesty International, said the testimonies collected in the report are “far more than accounts of suffering, they are a searing indictment of an international system that has granted ‘Israel’ a license to torment Palestinians with near-total impunity for decades.”

She also underlined the urgent need to halt any “Israeli” plan to entrench its occupation of Gaza or escalate the offensive there.

She further called on the international community, particularly “Israel’s” allies, to uphold their moral and legal obligations to bring an end to the Gaza bloodshed.

“States must urgently suspend all arms transfers, adopt targeted sanctions and terminate any engagement with Israeli entities when this contributes to ‘Israel’s’ genocide against Palestinians in Gaza,” Guevara Rosas said.