Israel's Extermination Campaign Using Hunger
Israeli forces continue to obstruct or block aid that is urgently needed by the people of the besieged territory as 40 Palestinians in Gaza succumb to hunger.
On the 155th day of the Israeli offensive on Gaza, the Health Ministry of the region reported that the number of deaths due to malnutrition and dehydration had increased to 40, including 18 children.
The ministry warned that "the famine is worsening and could result in thousands of fatalities if the hostility does not cease and humanitarian and medical assistance is not promptly provided." It also alleged that Israel was intentionally "starving thousands of individuals in northern Gaza". It appealed to the international community and the UN to end the conflict and prevent a "health disaster."
Demands from the international community for more humanitarian aid to be permitted into Gaza are becoming increasingly insistent. However, Israel has ignored these pleas. The UN's World Food Programme (WFP) stated on Wednesday that Israeli forces denied entry to a convoy of 14 trucks carrying food aid to northern Gaza. The trucks were held up after a three-hour wait at the checkpoint.
The WFP further reported that while the trucks were being redirected, they were intercepted by starving Palestinians who managed to secure about 200 tonnes of aid. The WFP was then compelled to distribute the remaining aid by airdropping it, with the assistance of the Jordanian Air Force, to approximately 20,000 people in Northern Gaza. The WFP also mentioned that it has been "largely unsuccessful" in resuming aid deliveries to Northern Gaza. Carl Skau the WFP's deputy director, stated, "Airdrops are a last resort and will not prevent famine. We require access points to northern Gaza that will enable us to deliver sufficient food for half a million people in dire need." The Palestinian foreign ministry has urged Israel to open all entry points/border crossings to allow aid to be delivered to Gaza.
Furthermore, reports on Wednesday indicated that a significant shipment of flour from the United States has been held up for the past 50 days, despite the US and Israel agreeing on a new mechanism to deliver aid to Gaza. The aid, capable of feeding 1.5 million Palestinians for 5 months, has been obstructed by Israel without any clear explanation, according to a US government official. The aid was previously blocked in February by Israeli far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who objected to it being distributed by UNRWA, labelling them as part of Hamas' "war machine." It was later decided that the aid would be delivered through the World Food Programme, but it remains blocked. Similarly, Israel has reportedly obstructed a shipment of aid consisting of around 1,400 water filters provided by the United Kingdom.
The overall death toll in Gaza since the beginning of the Israeli conflict has climbed to at least 30,717, with a minimum of 72,156 Palestinians sustaining injuries. There are, however, new speculations that the death toll in Gaza is far worse than what is being reported. This is due to all civil society of Gaza being paralyzed due to the Genocide. Ralph Nader recently analysed that the number of Palestinians who have perished in this genocide could be closer to 200,000. He deduces the figure from the continuous nature of Israeli bombings and the weapons that have been used on a population that has no shelter for the past 2 months.
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