Amnesty International: Israel runs a targeted hunger campaign in the Gaza Zone

Israel runs a “deliberate hunger campaign” in the Gaza Zone, systematically destroying the health, prosperity and social tissue of the Palestinian population living there, ”said Amnesty International in a report announced on Monday. According to the Palestinian authorities, 258 people died of hunger, including 110 children.

The organization defending human rights published a document, based on the testimonies of 19 Palestinians resettled to refugee camps and two medical employees treating malnourished children.

“Their testimonies emphasize the repetitive findings of our organization that the fatal combination of hunger and diseases is not an unhappy side effect of Israeli armed activities. This is the intended effect of plans and actions developed and taken by Israel in the last 22 months, the purpose of which is to impose Palestinian conditions in the Gaza Zone of living conditions calculated to bring them to physical destruction” – emphasized in the report.

It has been added that this is “an integral part of the ongoing Palestinian genocide in the Gaza Strip”, run by Israel.

The organization pointed out that the only way to reverse the “destructive effects of Israel's inhuman policy”, which led to mass hunger, is the unconditional abolition of restrictions on the entry of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip and the introduction of a constant suspension of weapons.

In the Gaza Zone, the worst hunger scenario is already developing, which has become common there – at the end of July in the report of the integrated food classification report (IPC), a global initiative dealing with the study of the scale of hunger crisis.

During the war of hunger and malnutrition, 258 people died, including 110 children – the Gaza Zone Ministry of Health, controlled by Hamas, transmitted in a Sunday message.

In July, due to acute malnutrition, nearly 13,000 were hospitalized in the Gaza Strip. children, of whom over 2.8 thousand (22 percent) suffers from severe acute malnutrition, i.e. the most deadly form of this state – said the United Nations Bureau for the coordination of humanitarian aid (Ocha) in the report issued last week.

Israel denies that his actions contribute to hunger, and accuses Hamas and institutions subordinate to him of overstating the number of deaths caused. The authorities in Jerusalem also reject accusations of blocking help, arguing that the purpose of the assumed security measures is to prevent Hamas from being stolen.

In March, Israel introduced a complete blockade of transports to the Gaza Strip, and then partially abolished it in May. In recent weeks, the authorities in Jerusalem have announced further steps to increase deliveries. According to humanitarian organizations, however, transports are still too small, and the Israeli authorities still maintain procedures hindering transport.

Jerzy Adamiak (PAP)

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