Doha, Qatar – The United Nations warned Tuesday that Israel’s severe restrictions on aid into war-ravaged Gaza coupled with its ongoing attacks could be seen as using starvation as a “weapon of war”.
UN human rights chief Volker Turk decried the rampant hunger and looming famine in Gaza.
“The situation of hunger, starvation and famine is a result of Israel’s extensive restrictions on the entry and distribution of humanitarian aid and commercial goods, displacement of most of the population, as well as the destruction of crucial civilian infrastructure,” he said in a statement.
“The extent of Israel’s continued restrictions on the entry of aid into Gaza, together with the manner in which it continues to conduct hostilities, may amount to the use of starvation as a method of war, which is a war crime.”
His spokesman, Jeremy Laurence, told reporters in Geneva that the final determination of whether “starvation is being used as a weapon of war” would be determined by a court of law.
“The suffering of the people of Gaza is unconscionable,” he said.
The comments came after a UN-backed assessment determined that the war-torn Palestinian territory is facing imminent famine.
The devastating war since Hamas’s October 7 attack on Israel has left roughly half of Gazans — around 1.1 million people — experiencing “catastrophic” hunger, a UN-backed food security assessment warned.
Without a surge of aid, famine would hit the 300,000 people in Gaza’s war-battered north by May, it said Monday.
Jens Laerke, spokesman for the UN humanitarian agency OCHA, told reporters in Geneva his agency feared that without action, “you’re looking at more than 200 people dying from starvation per day”.
Turk also stressed that “the clock is ticking”.
“Everyone, especially those with influence, must insist that Israel acts to facilitate the unimpeded entry and distribution of needed humanitarian assistance and commercial goods to end starvation and avert all risk of famine.”
He lamented that “the alarm bells sounded over the past months by the UN, including my Office, have not been heeded”.
“This catastrophe is human-made and was entirely preventable.”
Israel’s ground and air assault on Gaza has killed more than 31,800 people, most of them women and children.
Truce talks continue
Israel’s spy chief has left Doha but talks over a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release are continuing in Qatar’s capital, a senior Qatari official said on Tuesday.
Mossad head David Barnea “has left Doha”, foreign ministry spokesperson Majed al-Ansari told a regular briefing, adding that “technical teams are meeting as we speak”.
Barnea had flown to Doha for talks with the Qatari premier and Egyptian officials on Monday, the first since mediators failed to secure a truce before the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which began last week.
The technical teams are now looking at details of a potential deal after the principal negotiators discussed the “main issues”, Ansari said.
“We are at the point now where we are expecting that the counter-proposal would be presented to Hamas, but this is not the final step in the process,” Ansari said.
“I don’t think we are at a moment were we can say we are close to a deal. We are cautiously optimistic because talks have resumed, but it’s too early to announce any successes.”
On Monday, a Hamas official said the Palestinian fighters would accept a partial Israeli withdrawal before exchanging prisoners, easing previous demands for a complete withdrawal from Gaza.