'Israel' deliberately using starvation as weapon of war, expert says
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Alex de Waal, an expert on famine, has told Democracy Now in an interview that famine is not something that occurs by accident, noting that it cannot be "stopped overnight".
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Children in Gaza line up waiting to receive food. (AP)
According to famine expert and executive director of the World Peace Foundation at Tufts University, Alex de Waal, “It is not possible to create a famine by accident."
In an interview with Nermeen Shaikh of Democracy Now!, the expert explained that a famine in the besieged strip was "inevitable" since "Israel" has intentionally starved Gazans as a means of mass punishment.
UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food Michael Fakhri warned on social media last month that "Israel" is intentionally starving Gazans and destroying its food system, describing the occupation's deliberate starvation of Palestinians as "unprecedented".
In the second half of January, OCHA revealed that deliveries to northern and central Gaza were deliberately and increasingly denied by the Israeli occupation, in addition to the heightened aggression in central Gaza.
During the interview, de Waal discusses the main points in his recent piece in The Guardian titled “Unless Israel changes course, it could be legally culpable for mass starvation.”
In the analysis, the author mainly details how it is not realistically possible to create a famine by "accident", emphasizing that the end of the ruthless onslaught on Gaza is necessary to turn around the dire situation in Gaza that will ultimately, and in what he calls "technical definitions", put Gaza in a famine.
In terms of the severity of the famine, de Waal clarifies that even if aid were to reach Gaza today, a "humanitarian crisis is like a speeding freight train. Even if the driver puts on the brakes as hard as he possibly can, it will take many miles for that train to come to a stop. "
He details how the severity of malnutrition taking place in Gaza due to polluted water, overcrowding, and exposure to infectious diseases is not something that can be fixed "overnight".
De Waal further holds the Israeli occupation and its most loyal supporter, the United States, accountable for not intervening and taking provisional measures issued by the International Court of Justice.
In defiance of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and global calls for a ceasefire, "Israel" persists in its genocidal war against Palestinians. The death toll in Gaza has surpassed 27,000, predominantly women and children. Survivors are enduring 123 days of deprivation, thirst, loss, displacement, destruction, and various forms of suffering.
Ruthlessness not seen since the Second World War
The expert called the situation in Gaza "exceptionally accelerated and concentrated" when compared to other countries like Yemen and Ethiopia, which have also experienced famine.
He also emphasizes that what makes the situation in Gaza worse is the "clearly deliberate, intentional reduction of a population to a state of outright starvation," stressing that this ruthless method that is a political and military decision has not been seen since the Second World War.
De Waal also explains that regardless of whether the ICJ rules that "Israel" is deliberately engaged in genocide should be irrespective of its intentions. According to him, the facts on the ground in Gaza indicate that regardless of "Israel's" intentions, the "conditions of life that will bring about the physical destruction of a significant part of the population" exist.
He notes that the deprivation of items that are crucial to survival, even if not food, applies to the war crime of starvation.
He details that "Israel" is aware it is creating the conditions for starvation and although it has been warned repeatedly, it has not relented.
Most importantly, he emphasizes that those who are supporting and arming the occupation and undermining the relief capacity like UNRWA are complicit.
This comes as major donors like the United States, Germany, Britain, and Sweden have suspended funding to UNRWA over false Israeli accusations of collusion with Hamas.
The agency -- which has received a Norwegian nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize -- has warned it will have to cease operations by the end of the month should funding be significantly pulled.
Furthermore, de Waal argues that in addition to starvation crimes, "Israel" has also destroyed crucial infrastructure "relentlessly" beyond any consideration of proportionality, noting that in the case of Gaza, "Israel" is treating the "entire population as a combatant population."
De Waal reminds of the US complicity in Gaza and calls it morally complicit, as well as legally liable, if the International Criminal Court would ever issue arrest warrants for Israeli officers or politicians.
