Hunger overshadows Gaza amid relentless Israeli attacks: Euro-Med
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A new study by Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor reveals that 71% of the Gaza population is grappling with acute hunger, while 98% is dealing with insufficient food intake.
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Bottles of water are handed out as Palestinian families are forcibly displaced from northern Gaza amid the ongoing Israeli genocide against Palestinians (AFP)
The Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor published a new study on Tuesday, revealing distressing levels of starvation in the Palestinian Gaza Strip.
The study revealed that 71% of the Gaza population is grappling with acute hunger, while 98% is dealing with insufficient food intake. Additionally, 64% have turned to eating fruits, wild or raw food, and expired items as a means of alleviating hunger.
🚨 Alarming figures from @EuroMedHR study on hunger levels in Gaza set to be released tomorrow:
— Ramy Abdu| رامي عبده (@RamAbdu) December 18, 2023
71% of Gaza's population faces severe hunger, with 98% experiencing inadequate food consumption. 64% resort to consuming fruits, wild or
raw food, & expired items to alleviate hunger. pic.twitter.com/KWZ5niYo7j
The study also highlighted that the daily water access rate for individuals in the Gaza Strip, encompassing drinking, bathing, and cleaning water, stands at 1.5 liters per person. This falls short by 15 liters compared to the essential water requirements for survival as per international SPHERE standards. The research also delved into the consequences of malnutrition and the absence of access to safe drinking water. Sixty-six percent of the participants in the study disclosed instances or a history of gastrointestinal diseases, diarrhea, and skin rashes during the current month.
In further detail, the Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor conveyed testimonies from doctors about an increase in the mortality rate due to heart attacks and fainting in areas of Gaza City and its northern regions, which are witnessing a more severe deterioration in the humanitarian crisis and higher hunger rates.
Since the onset of "Israel's" genocidal war on Gaza, "Israel" has imposed a comprehensive blockade on the territory, preventing the supply of food, water, fuel, and other humanitarian needs to more than 2.3 million people. Subsequently, the Israeli strategy of siege intensified, cutting off all food supplies and bombing and destroying bakeries, factories, food stores, and water stations.
"Israel" also targeted power generators and solar energy units relied upon by commercial establishments, restaurants, and civilian institutions to maintain their minimum functioning. In addition, Israeli attacks destroyed the agricultural area east of Gaza, flour storage facilities, fishermen's boats, and supply centers for humanitarian organizations, especially the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA), the largest source of humanitarian aid in the region, the study highlighted.
Meanwhile, the Euro-Med emphasized that international humanitarian law strictly prohibits the use of starvation as a method of warfare. As the occupying power in Gaza, "Israel" is obligated under international humanitarian law to provide for the needs of the population in Gaza and protect them, Euro-Med stressed.
It also asserted that the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court stipulates that "intentionally using starvation of civilians as a method of warfare by depriving them of objects indispensable to their survival, including wilfully impeding relief supplies'' constitutes a war crime.
'Israel' using starvation of civilians as warfare method in Gaza: HRW
In a related development, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said "Israel" is intentionally hindering the supply of food and water in the Gaza Strip and using starvation of civilians as a method of warfare.
"Israeli forces are deliberately blocking the delivery of water, food, and fuel, while willfully impeding humanitarian assistance, apparently razing agricultural areas, and depriving the civilian population of objects indispensable to their survival … The Israeli government is using starvation of civilians as a method of warfare in the Gaza Strip, which is a war crime," the human rights group said in a statement.
HRW urged the Israeli occupation government to lift a blockade of the Strip and called on the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, and other states to suspend any military aid to "Israel".
Grim reality: Starvation grips Gaza as crisis deepens amid genocide
Gazans are confronting the specter of starvation for the first time in recent history, as reported by United Nations agencies. Aid deliveries have fallen short of the escalating needs in the enclave, resulting in a collapsed food supply system, The Wall Street Journal reported last Friday.
The report also highlighted that the vast majority of Gaza's 2.3 million inhabitants lack sufficient food, often skipping meals and occasionally enduring several days without any food, as per the World Food Programme.
The UN is currently evaluating whether Gaza meets the formal definition of famine, where two out of every 10,000 residents die from hunger each day, and roughly one in three children is acutely malnourished.
The situation in Gaza is dire as “Israel” is committing genocide against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip alongside a total blockade. In further detail, insufficient humanitarian aid entry is restricted to the Rafah border crossing with Egypt, and "Israel" monitors all incoming goods.
In the best-case scenario, this inadequate relief acts as a band-aid, but all too often, it is deployed inadequately and belatedly amid the ongoing genocide in Gaza. The act of besieging an already vulnerable territory exacerbates the damage, making any aid in the form of biscuits, water, and shrouds insufficient for adequate recovery. A humanitarian catastrophe is imminent, potentially resulting in the loss of thousands of lives.
Read next: Grim reality: Starvation grips Gaza as crisis deepens amid genocide
