UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said that Israel’s continued restrictions on aid entering Gaza, coupled with the way it continues hostilities, “may amount to the use of starvation as a means of war, which is a war crime.”
In a press statement issued on Tuesday, Mr. Türk said that the catastrophe in Gaza was “man-made and could have been entirely prevented” if the alarm bells that the United Nations had sounded for months had been heeded, and added: “The expected imminent famine in Gaza can and must “Prevent it.”
He stressed that the acute hunger situation in Gaza “is the result of widespread Israeli restrictions on the entry and distribution of humanitarian aid and commercial goods, the displacement of most of the population, as well as the destruction of vital civilian infrastructure.”
The High Commissioner warned that dangerous coping strategies are already emerging and that the system is collapsing as people grow more desperate. He said Israel’s 16-year blockade of Gaza had already had a severe impact on the human rights of the civilian population, destroying the local economy and creating aid dependency.
Mr. Türk added that Israel, as the occupying power, has an obligation to ensure the provision of food and medical care to the population in proportion to their needs and to facilitate the work of humanitarian organizations to provide aid, and must also ensure that the population is able to obtain this aid in a safe and dignified manner.
The High Commissioner stressed the importance of fully restoring basic services, including food, water, electricity and fuel supplies, and renewed his calls for an immediate ceasefire.
“Time is running out,” he said. “Everyone, especially those with influence, must insist that Israel facilitate the entry and distribution of humanitarian aid and commercial goods needed to end hunger and avoid all risks of famine.”
