UPDATE – Israel is starving Gaza civilians, including 1 million children: UNRWA

UPDATES WITH MORE DETAILS

By Ikram Kouachi and Tarek Chouiref

ANKARA / ISTANBUL (AA) – The UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) on Sunday once again accused Israeli authorities of using starvation as a weapon of war against the civilian population of Gaza.

In a statement on X, UNRWA said: “The Israeli Authorities are starving civilians in Gaza. Among them are 1 million children.”

It renewed its urgent call for the lifting of Israel’s ongoing siege, saying: “Lift the siege: allow UNRWA to bring in food and medicines.”

Despite international legal obligations to protect civilians and allow the delivery of aid, Israel has maintained a total siege on Gaza since March 2, bombing convoys, blocking border crossings, and targeting aid distribution points, actions that have been widely condemned as collective punishment and potential war crimes.

According to Gaza’s Health Ministry, dozens of children have already died from starvation and dehydration, while hundreds of thousands more are at risk due to widespread food insecurity and the collapse of healthcare services.

The Health Ministry said on Sunday that 86 Palestinians, including 76 children, have died due to hunger and malnutrition since the start of the Israeli war, calling the situation “a silent massacre.”

The ministry reported 18 deaths from hunger in the last 24 hours alone, holding both Israel and the international community responsible for the growing humanitarian disaster in the enclave.

It called for the immediate opening of border crossings to allow the entry of food and medicine into the besieged territory.

On Saturday alone, Israeli strikes killed at least 136 Palestinians, including 38 people waiting for aid and three children who died from severe malnutrition, Palestinian official sources reported.

Israel has killed nearly 59,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children, in Gaza since October 2023. The relentless bombing has destroyed the enclave, almost collapsed the health system, and created famine-like conditions.

Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.