The UN human rights commissioner, Volker Türk, said on Tuesday (19/3), the increasing hunger in the Gaza Strip was the result of restrictions imposed by Israel on the entry process and distribution of humanitarian aid. He warned that it could be considered a war crime.
“The extent of Israel's restrictions on the entry of aid into Gaza, coupled with its continued conduct of hostilities, amounts to using starvation as a method of war, which is a war crime,” Türk said in a statement.
His comments came a day after a UN-backed report said that 1.1 million Palestinians in Gaza were facing famine. The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) report said famine could occur at any time in the coming weeks, with an estimated 210,000 people in northern Gaza facing the most severe danger.
“Israel, as the ruling power, is obliged to ensure the provision of food and medical care to the population in accordance with their needs, and facilitate the work of humanitarian organizations to provide that assistance,” the UN high commissioner said.
Türk said Israel must ensure that Gazans can access aid in a safe and respectful manner.
“Time continues to move quickly,” he said. “Everyone, especially figures of influence, must demand that Israel move to facilitate the influx of aid and the free distribution of necessary humanitarian aid and commercial goods to end hunger and avert the risk of catastrophic famine.”
Israel says it facilitates the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza by land, air and sea in accordance with international law, and does not limit the amount of food that can enter Gaza. They blamed the UN and a number of its partner institutions for not distributing aid quickly to the region.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said on Tuesday that it continues to experience restrictions on access to aid deliveries, especially to hundreds of thousands of people in northern Gaza.
In the first two weeks of March, OCHA said Israel facilitated less than half of its planned aid missions to northern Gaza — 11 of a total of 24 missions. Israel has rejected or postponed the rest. (ps/lt/rs)