UN Experts Allege Israel’s Deliberate Destruction of Gaza’s Food System, Weaponizing Food in Ongoing War
January 18, 2024, In a scathing joint statement released on Tuesday, January 16, United Nations (UN) human rights experts, including Francesca Albanese and Michael Fakhri, have accused Israel of deliberately destroying Gaza’s food system and using food as a weapon in its genocidal war on the besieged territory. The statement revealed alarming statistics, asserting that Palestinians in Gaza now constitute 80% of the global population facing famine or catastrophic hunger.
The experts, from the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), highlighted the dire situation, stating that every single person in Gaza is currently hungry, with a quarter of the population struggling to find food and drinkable water, and famine becoming imminent.
Pregnant women in Gaza are reportedly not receiving adequate nutrition and medical care, putting their lives at risk. Additionally, an alarming 335,000 children under the age of 5 are at the risk of malnutrition, potentially leading to a generation suffering from stunting due to insufficient food.
The experts attribute these famine-like conditions to Israel’s genocidal war, which began on October 7, with indiscriminate bombings and a brutal ground offensive resulting in the deaths of over 24,400 Palestinians and injuries to over 61,000 others.
Furthermore, the humanitarian crisis has deepened due to Israel’s near-complete ban on the supply of food, medicine, fuel, and other basic amenities into Gaza. Despite partial resumptions of humanitarian aid, deliveries are often delayed due to Israeli restrictions.
There is a significant disparity in aid delivery due to Israel’s refusal to allow the movement of aid to northern Gaza. Since January 1, only 21% of planned aid deliveries containing food and other life-saving supplies reached their destination north of Wadi Gaza.
Humanitarian workers on the ground report that a large number of people in Gaza are going without food for days, and scenes of crowds surrounding aid trucks in search of food have become increasingly common.
“It is unprecedented to make an entire civilian population go hungry this completely and quickly. Israel is destroying Gaza’s food system and using food as a weapon against the Palestinian people,” the experts emphasized.
The UN experts argue that Israel is using starvation as a weapon by destroying agricultural land, fishing fleets, bakeries, and hindering the availability of fuel for cooking.
The situation in Gaza is dire, with around 60% of Palestinian homes destroyed, leading to 85% of Gazans being displaced and forced to live in overcrowded, unhygienic camps lacking basic amenities. The lack of clean drinking water and food has resulted in outbreaks of diarrhea and other infectious diseases.
Raising alarm about the risk of genocide, the UN experts assert that Israel is intentionally imposing a high rate of disease, prolonged malnutrition, dehydration, and starvation. They stress that the ongoing crisis is not a singular event but a result of Israel’s long-standing occupation, blockade, and current civic destruction.
Demanding an immediate ceasefire, the UN experts underlined that achieving peace, safety, and stability for both Israelis and Palestinians lies in the realization of Palestinian self-determination.