Israel ‘lying' about famine in Gaza: Geldof

Arab News

5 hours ago

LONDON: Israel is 'lying' about claims there is no famine in Gaza, according to rock musician Bob Geldof.
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The former Boomtown Rats frontman told Sky News that Israel bears responsibility for mass starvation in the enclave, after Israeli government spokesperson David Mencer claimed there was 'no famine caused by Israel' and 'Hamas starves its own people.'
In an interview with Sky earlier this week, Mencer said: 'This suffering exists because Hamas made it so. Here are the facts. Aid is flowing through the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. Millions of meals are being delivered directly to civilians.'
But Geldof told the 'Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips' show: '(Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu lies, is a liar. The IDF are lying. They're dangling food in front of starving, panicked, exhausted mothers.
'And, while they arrive to accept the tiny amount of food that this sort of set-up pantomime outfit, the Gaza Humanitarian Front (sic), I would call it, as they dangle it, then they're shot wantonly.
'This month, up to now, 1,000 children or 1,000 people have died of starvation. I'm really not interested in what either of these sides are saying.'
This week, authorities in Gaza said 127 people have died from malnutrition-related causes since the start of the war in October 2023, 85 of whom were children.
Mencer told Sky that aid was entering Gaza and that over 4,400 trucks carrying supplies had entered the enclave.
The charity Doctors Without Borders, however, said that around a quarter of children and pregnant women in Gaza are malnourished, accusing Israel of 'deliberate use of starvation as a weapon.'
Geldof urged Israelis to protest against the actions of their government and to take aid into Gaza themselves.
'If the newsfeeds and social feeds weren't so censored in Israel, I imagine that the Israeli people would not permit what has been done in their name,' he said.
'Get in your cars, stock your cars full of food and drive through that border and let your own army stop you.'
Geldof also said it was right that the UK should recognize a Palestinian state, but criticized the government for not doing enough to stop the conflict.
'This is a distraction thing about 'let's recognize the state' — absolutely, it should have been done ages ago, but it's not going to make any material difference.'
An Israeli security official told Sky: 'Despite the false claims that are being spread, the State of Israel does not limit the number of humanitarian aid trucks entering the Gaza Strip.
'Over the past month, we have witnessed a significant decline in the collection of aid from the crossings into the Gaza Strip by international aid organizations.
'The delays in collection by the UN and international organizations harm the situation and the food security of Gaza's residents.'
The Israeli military told Sky: 'The IDF allows the American civilian organization (Gaza Humanitarian Foundation) to distribute aid to Gaza residents independently and operates in proximity to the new distribution zones to enable the distribution alongside the continuation of IDF operational activities in the Gaza Strip.
'Following incidents in which harm to civilians who arrived at distribution facilities was reported, thorough examinations were conducted in the Southern Command and instructions were issued to forces in the field following lessons learned.
'The aforementioned incidents are under review by the competent authorities in the IDF.'