Photo: Activestills
In the last five months, Israel’s unparalleled attack and siege on Gaza have resulted in a dire humanitarian catastrophe, with over 75% of the population displaced and forcibly relocated to southern Gaza. Gaza’s residents are experiencing the highest levels of hunger, with parents scavenging through garbage heaps to nourish their children, skipping meals, and even resorting to eating animal feed to stay alive.
Every day, children, women, and men across Gaza are killed by Israeli military attacks, as well as by starvation, scarcity of clean water, inadequate access to medications and healthcare services, and the absence of basic hygiene conditions. The situation is particularly grave in the northern Gaza Strip, where 300,000 people are experiencing severe malnutrition – which has already resulted in the deaths of dozens, primarily children.
According to UN and Integrated Food Security Classification (IPC) reports, over two million people in Gaza face crisis levels of food insecurity, with over a million suffering from “catastrophic” food insecurity – the most severe phase in the IPC index. Twenty-seven children have already reportedly died of malnutrition and dehydration. The toll is expected to increase, with numerous children facing enduring consequences on both their physical and mental development.
Last week, UN Secretary-General António Guterres described the disaster in Gaza as the worst hunger crisis ever recorded by the IPC—“anywhere, anytime.” Since its establishment in 2004, the IPC has declared a famine only twice: once in Somalia in 2011 and then again in South Sudan in 2017.
Israel has floated several proposed solutions, such as airdropping meager quantities of aid–which have already killed five people–, opening a maritime humanitarian corridor, or constructing a floating pier – a process that would take weeks, with uncertain effectiveness. Yet none of these proposals can sufficiently meet the urgent needs of over two million Gazans in dire need of assistance. Israel’s assertions concerning its military needs and the purported looting of humanitarian aid by desperate populations serve only as diversionary propaganda tactics from its responsibilities towards civilians safeguarded under international law.
Moreover, the few trucks allowed to enter Gaza have done little to alleviate the acute shortages, especially considering the lack of local food production due to Israel’s bombardment of bakeries, agricultural land, and infrastructure. Rather than entertaining Israel’s diplomatic distractions and unrealistic quick fixes, the international community must pressure it to open crossings, allow swift and unrestricted entry of aid, and end its military assault.
Earlier this week, together with Gisha, HaMoked, ACRI, and Adalah, we petitioned the High Court to force Israel to allow the entry of all humanitarian aid and assistance shipments into Gaza and ensure the civilian population receives everything it needs to survive the war – in accordance with Israel’s obligations as an occupying power.
Israel is accountable for the circumstances in Gaza as the occupying power, and it can change the situation in a matter of days by opening crossings and allowing aid to enter. The moral conscience of the public, especially within the healthcare community, must awaken to the present circumstances and advocate for an immediate ceasefire as a crucial, though insufficient, step to prevent starvation, deaths, and illness. Every day that Israel chooses to keep the crossings closed and ignores appeals for a ceasefire is another day in which it continues to intentionally starve 2.2 million people – a reality it has upheld for 170 days.
