Israel has dropped approximately 70,000 tons of bombs on civilians in Gaza since October last year. About 37,000 Palestinians, including 15,000 children, were killed in the devastating attack. Apart from this, it is believed that around 10,000 people have died buried under the rubble of their homes. But these death tolls will be irrelevant if a famine occurs in Gaza. Because, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) recently warned that more than 1 million people (more than half of the total population) could die of famine in Gaza by mid-July.
As a result of such grim analysis, it is clear that the international community is not really intervening to stop the flow of aid into Gaza and the latest attacks by Israeli forces on the Palestinian people. As a result, more people will die from Israeli forced starvation than as a direct result of the bombing. It is important to be clear that this famine is entirely man-made. As a result, it is equally important to identify who is responsible and there is widespread criticism in this regard. Failing to secure a meaningful ceasefire in Gaza, Western allies have given Tel Aviv the green signal to starve out the Palestinian population of the Gaza Strip while continuing military aid to Israel. Local famines occur during times of war or conflict, but forced starvation of a population is different.
Basically, this strategy was routinely used by the colonial power to displace the people of a settlement in order to gain dominance. There are many different factors contributing to the current starvation of civilians in Gaza. All of which are directly related to Israel’s decades-long domination of Palestinian lives and livelihoods. In addition to blocking the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza, the bureaucratic complexities of what will or will not be allowed to enter are being blocked step by step. Israel continues to create conditions that accelerate famine in the Valley.
We believe that the destruction of equipment used in the distribution of food to the Palestinian people along with attacks on civilian facilities is a deliberate strategy by the Israeli forces and there is strong evidence in its favor. Water sanitation stations, food processing factories, relief warehouses, bakeries and flour mills all became regular targets of Israeli bombardment. Along with the infrastructure, the workers who are dedicated to saving lives are being attacked.
Therefore, it is not possible to analyze this man-made famine in isolation. Rather, it must be viewed in the context of decades of colonial practices. The main goal of which is the attempt to eliminate the Palestinian presence and historical presence in their territory.
Indeed, since the imposition of the blockade against Gaza in 2007, Israel has adopted a policy that has forced food insecurity there. These policies, at several levels, include monitoring certain types of food that enter Gaza or what not. Under international law, siege warfare is illegal. But the imposition of this blockade by Israel nevertheless means that the occupying state establishes surveillance and control over the daily caloric needs of the Palestinian people of Gaza. Because of this, meat, milk, fruits and vegetables also became luxury goods for Gazans.
According to the report published by Oxfam, food insecurity is increasing rapidly due to the ongoing genocide. As a result, the average daily calorie intake of Palestinians living in northern Gaza has dropped to 245. Yet if Israel were to open the border crossings today, it would be possible to deliver food in just 15 minutes to those roaming the streets of Gaza for food. Because some of the crossings through which humanitarian aid enters Gaza are only five kilometers away. But the occupation forces have closed the intended crossings.
It is no surprise then that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his Defense Minister Yoav Galant have been indicted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for war crimes and crimes against humanity for allegedly using hunger as a weapon. Gallant is the man who made Israel’s intention to starve the Palestinians very clear when he announced a total blockade of Gaza in October last year. He said, ‘There will be no electricity, no food, no fuel, everything is off. We are fighting man and beast and we are acting accordingly.’
To date, no western government has taken any effective action against it, instead they are accused of aiding and abetting these crimes. The international community is complicit in the loss of Palestinian lives by providing insufficient relief to Gaza on the one hand, while maintaining normal trade and commerce with their protected Israeli allies. At the same time, it is important to remember that international allies, including Britain’s future Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, responded quickly to Israel’s cutoff of water supplies to Gaza, saying it had the right to do so.
This is the state of Israel that could produce a famine and starve a record number of children in the fastest time ever. That’s why he is showing thumbs up to international law along with getting impunity. After enduring more than eight long months of bombardment of a civilian population courtesy of the West, they are being forced to starve. The scars it has left on the international community and our institutions are irreparable. Therefore, urgent international intervention is necessary.