Israel\u2019s restrictions on humanitarian aid for Gaza may amount to a starvation tactic that could be a war crime, the United Nations human rights chief said on Tuesday.The stark appraisal followed a U.N.-backed report on Monday saying famine is likely by May without an end to fighting in the more than five-month war between Israel and Hamas militants in the Palestinian enclave of 2.3 million people.\u201cThe extent of Israel\u2019s continued restrictions on entry of aid into Gaza, together with the manner in which it continues to conduct hostilities, may amount to the use of starvation as a method of war, which is a war crime,\u201d said the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Turk.While aid agencies blame Israel for blockading Gaza, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu\u2019s government says it is facilitating aid and the United Nations and relief groups are at fault for any issues over the quantity and pace of delivery.In response to Turk\u2019s statement, the Israeli diplomatic mission in Geneva said: \u201cIsrael is doing everything it can to flood Gaza with aid, including by land air and sea. The U.N. must also step up.\u201dAs the occupying power in Gaza, Israel is obligated to ensure the provision of food and medical care to the population and to facilitate the work of humanitarian organisations trying to deliver aid, Turk said in his statement.Monday\u2019s report by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) said malnutrition and food insecurity have probably exceeded famine levels in Gaza\u2019s north, and hunger-linked death rates were likely to reach famine levels soon.\u201cThe coping mechanisms we have seen the past weeks, even months, are people eating bird seeds, animal fodder, wild grass, and weeds,\u201d said Jens Laerke, spokesperson for the U.N. humanitarian office (OCHA).\u201cThey have consumed that already. We are beyond that. There\u2019s literally nothing left.\u201dTurk said the crisis was \u201chuman-made\u201d and urged all states to put pressure on Israel to facilitate the delivery of aid into Gaza.\u201cThere needs to be full restoration of essential services, including the supply of food, water, electricity and fuel,\u201d Turk said.(Reuters)starvation tactic. humanitarian aid, Gaza, starvation tactic<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Israel’s restrictions on humanitarian aid for Gaza might constitute a war crime due to potential starvation tactics, as stated by the U.N. human rights chief, Volker Turk. A U.N.-backed report warned of a possible famine in Gaza by May if the conflict between Israel and Hamas continues. Israel, however, claims it is facilitating aid delivery and blames the U.N. and relief groups for any issues related to aid distribution. The Israeli diplomatic mission in Geneva asserted that Israel is actively working to provide Gaza with aid through various means. The U.N. High Commissioner emphasized Israel’s obligations as the occupying power to ensure food and medical care for Gaza’s population and support humanitarian organizations in their aid delivery efforts. The report highlighted severe malnutrition and food insecurity in northern Gaza, with people resorting to eating bird seeds, animal fodder, wild grass, and weeds due to the lack of food. Turk described the crisis as “human-made” and called for international pressure on Israel to allow full aid delivery and restore essential services in Gaza.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":4663,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"Default","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[122,1478,21,553,1978,145,88,415,298,115,1235,399,187,299,2121,795,493,345,864,1004,1792,1812,827,1806,2495,1827,1358,414,1759,293,962,18],"class_list":["post-4662","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-other","tag-aid","tag-aid-delivery","tag-crime","tag-electricity","tag-famine","tag-gaza","tag-gaza-aid","tag-government","tag-hamas","tag-human-rights","tag-humanitarian","tag-humanitarian-aid","tag-international","tag-israel","tag-land","tag-medical-care","tag-netanyahu","tag-palestine","tag-population","tag-power","tag-prime-minister","tag-rights","tag-security","tag-services","tag-starvation-tactic","tag-statement","tag-support","tag-un","tag-united-nations","tag-war","tag-water","tag-world"],"acf":{"keyphrase":"","keywords":"","sourceimg":"","country-category":""},"yoast_head":"\n