UN: Israel's Weaponization of Food in Gaza Constitutes War Crime
DayofPal– The United Nations Human Rights Office has declared that Israel's manipulation of humanitarian aid access in Gaza amounts to a potential war crime, citing the systematic killing of civilians seeking food and the obstruction of critical life-saving supplies.
In a press briefing in Geneva on Tuesday, UN human rights spokesperson Thameen Al-Kheetan condemned 'Israel's militarized humanitarian assistance mechanism,' referring to a controversial aid distribution system set up by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF).
'Desperate, hungry people in Gaza continue to face the inhumane choice of either starving to death or risk being killed while trying to get food,' Al-Kheetan said.
'The weaponization of food for civilians, in addition to restricting or preventing their access to life-sustaining services, constitutes a war crime and, under certain circumstances, may constitute elements of other crimes under international law.'
Asked whether Israel was culpable under international law, Al-Kheetan emphasized that 'the legal qualification needs to be made by a court of law.'
Since GHF began operations in Gaza on May 27, Israeli forces have killed more than 520 Palestinians near its aid distribution points, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. Another 39 starved people are reported missing after attempting to reach the sites.
Human rights organizations and aid agencies have accused Israel of transforming humanitarian corridors into zones of slaughter, describing scenes of chaos and carnage as thousands of Palestinians rush for limited aid.
Israeli forces have been accused of targeting these gatherings with live fire and drone strikes, making access to food a deadly gamble.
Gaza's Government Media Office has described the GHF sites as 'mass traps' and 'slaughterhouses.'
The situation has deteriorated further since March 2, when Israel closed Gaza's main crossings, halting the flow of food, medical, and humanitarian supplies.
Humanitarian agencies say the blockade has plunged Gaza's 2.3 million residents into an increasingly desperate situation, with starvation now a pressing reality for vast segments of the population.
A recent report by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) warned that nearly 25% of Gaza's population faces catastrophic levels of food insecurity, the highest classification under the IPC system (Phase 5), in the coming months.
Despite growing international condemnation, limited aid has reached Gaza through the GHF. The organization has come under fire for its lack of transparency, restricted delivery routes, and selective distribution that leaves vast areas without relief.
Most humanitarian organizations, including the UN, have distanced themselves from the GHF, citing its violations of humanitarian principles. Critics say the group restricts aid to southern and central Gaza, forces civilians to travel dangerous distances, and distributes only a fraction of the aid needed.
Doctors Without Borders (MSF) warned that 'weaponizing aid in this manner may constitute crimes against humanity.' In a statement, the group added: 'Every day Palestinians are met with carnage in their attempts to receive supplies from the insufficient amount of aid trickling into Gaza.'
UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini also condemned the system in a statement on X describing it as 'lethal.'
'Palestinian lives have been so devalued,' Lazzarini said. 'It is now the routine to shoot & kill desperate & starving people while they try to collect little food from a company made of mercenaries.'
'Inviting starving people to their death is a war crime. Those responsible of this system must be held accountable,' he added. 'This is a disgrace & a stain on our collective consciousness.'
The UN has confirmed that, despite severe famine conditions, Israel continues to block most food shipments into Gaza, allowing only a handful of aid trucks to pass.
Shortlink for this post: https://daysofpalestine.ps/?p=65133
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Days of Palestine
4 hours ago
- Days of Palestine
Israel's War Destroys 74% of Gaza's Telecommunications, Damages May Exceed $700 Million
DayofPal– The Israeli war on Gaza has devastated the territory's telecommunications infrastructure, with approximately 74% of the sector's assets destroyed, according to a senior Palestinian official. Speaking at the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Board meeting in Geneva, Huda Al-Wuhaidi, Undersecretary of the Palestinian Ministry of Telecommunications and Digital Economy, detailed the widespread destruction inflicted on Gaza's digital infrastructure. She revealed that the direct losses to the sector amount to $164 million, primarily due to the destruction of 580 cellular towers and vital fiber optic networks. Al-Wuhaidi warned that the projected economic losses over the next five years could reach $736 million, given the massive scale of destruction and the urgent need to completely rebuild the sector from the ground up. 'We are witnessing an unprecedented crisis in Gaza's digital infrastructure,' she said. 'There has been a near-total collapse of communication services, and no practical steps have yet been taken to implement UN Resolution 1424, passed in 2024, which mandates the reconstruction of the Palestinian telecom sector.' She urged the ITU Council to urgently develop and implement an actionable plan to enforce the UN resolution, calling for immediate international intervention to protect Gaza's digital infrastructure from further Israeli attacks. Since the beginning of Israel's military campaign on October 7, 2023, Palestinian telecom providers have reported repeated and widespread service outages across the Gaza Strip, caused by ongoing bombardments and fuel shortages. The war, supported by the United States, has led in nearly 190,000 Palestinian casualties, killed or wounded, most of them women and children. Over 11,000 people remain missing, and hundreds of thousands have been displaced amid relentless air and ground attacks. Al-Wuhaidi concluded her remarks with a plea to the international community: 'Rebuilding Gaza's digital lifeline is not only a matter of infrastructure but a matter of human rights and survival.' Shortlink for this post:
Days of Palestine
4 hours ago
- Days of Palestine
Israel, U.S. Move to Block UN Plan to Dismantle GHF Over Drugs
DayofPal– The United States and Israel are working to block a draft UN Security Council resolution aimed at dissolving the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF). GHF controversial aid distribution mechanism has come under intense scrutiny amid growing reports of mismanagement, mass casualties, and serious rights violations. According to Ynet, a closed-door session was held last Friday at the UN Security Council, following which the United Nations instructed its agencies and organizations to cease all cooperation with GHF. The move follows disturbing reports from the ground in Gaza, where scenes at aid distribution points have reportedly turned into what some officials are calling 'mass death traps.' The Russian representative at the session reportedly presented evidence suggesting that drugs were being smuggled into Gaza with the alleged involvement of the GHF. Despite these accusations, the United States and Israel are actively opposing efforts to dismantle the foundation. Another Security Council session is scheduled for Monday, where the resolution will again be discussed. The GHF, which began its operations in Gaza on May 27, was created to bypass the United Nations' established humanitarian delivery systems. It has received backing from both the U.S. and Israel. However, its operations have been widely condemned by humanitarian organizations and UN officials who argue that the foundation violates core humanitarian principles. Following the closure of Gaza's main crossings on March 2, Israel effectively blocked food, medical, and humanitarian supplies from entering the territory. Human rights organizations have accused Israel of employing starvation as a weapon of war against the 2.3 million Palestinians in the enclave. A recent report from the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) warned that nearly a quarter of Gaza's population could face catastrophic levels of food insecurity, classified as IPC Phase 5, in the coming months. Limited aid has been distributed by the GHF under a system many say is both inadequate and unsafe. According to Doctors Without Borders (MSF), 'weaponizing aid in this manner may constitute crimes against humanity.' 'Every day Palestinians are met with carnage in their attempts to receive supplies from the insufficient amount of aid trickling into Gaza,' MSF said in a statement. The commissioner-general of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), Philippe Lazzarini, issued a blistering condemnation of the foundation's operations, calling the U.S.-Israel backed mechanism 'lethal.' 'Palestinian lives have been so devalued,' Lazzarini wrote on X. 'It is now the routine to shoot & kill desperate & starving people while they try to collect little food from a company made of mercenaries… Inviting starving people to their death is a war crime. Those responsible of this system must be held accountable. This is a disgrace & a stain on our collective consciousness.' UN Secretary-General António Guterres echoed the criticism, saying the aid delivery system is 'inherently unsafe' and 'it is killing people.' 'Any operation that channels desperate civilians into militarized zones is inherently unsafe. It is killing people,' Guterres told reporters Friday. 'People are being killed simply trying to feed themselves and their families. The search for food must never be a death sentence.' Since the GHF began distributing aid, more than 520 people have been killed by Israeli forces near or at GHF sites, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry. At least 39 others remain missing after heading to the distribution centers. Witnesses and local officials describe chaotic and dangerous scenes at these locations, where only limited aid is provided and Palestinians are forced to walk long distances to receive it. Gaza's Government Media Office has denounced the aid sites as 'mass death traps' and 'slaughterhouses.' A Haaretz report cited Israeli military sources who admitted that commanders ordered troops to fire on crowds at these distribution points to drive them away, even when the civilians posed no threat. Adding to the controversy, narcotics have reportedly been found inside flour bags distributed by the GHF. According to Gaza's Government Media Office, several citizens discovered Oxycodone, a powerful and addictive opioid, concealed within the flour. Some officials fear the drugs may have been crushed or dissolved into the flour itself, posing a serious public health risk. 'This is a systematic crime. It aims to spread addiction and destroy Palestinian society from within,' said Ismail Al-Thawabta, director of the Government Media Office in Gaza. 'It is part of Israel's broader war against the Palestinian people, including acts of genocide.' He described the contamination as a form of chemical warfare disguised as humanitarian relief, warning that using narcotics as a 'soft weapon' in warfare violates international law and constitutes a war crime. The United Nations and its humanitarian partners continue to call for the immediate restoration of full access to Gaza through safe and organized channels. Meanwhile, international outrage over the GHF's operations continues to mount, even as the U.S. and Israel move to shield the organization from UN intervention. Shortlink for this post:
Days of Palestine
a day ago
- Days of Palestine
Israeli Settlers Uproot 180 Trees in West Bank Village
DaysofPal— Israeli settlers uprooted around 180 trees and saplings in the town of Azzun, east of Qalqilia in the northern occupied West Bank, on Sunday, in the latest escalation of settler violence across Palestinian lands. According to local sources, settlers from the illegal settlement of Ma'ale Shomron, which is built on land seized from nearby Palestinian villages, stormed agricultural areas and destroyed 80 fully grown trees owned by Palestinian farmer Radi Mohammad Radwan. The damaged trees included 55 olive trees and 25 citrus trees. In addition to the destruction, the settlers reportedly stole farming equipment and sabotaged the water network on Radwan's land, causing damages estimated at around 10,000 shekels (approx. \$2,700). The attackers also uprooted about 100 three-year-old olive saplings belonging to another farmer, Mahmoud Mustafa Radwan. These saplings were located in the Abu Shaar Valley area, near the main road connecting Qalqilia and Nablus — a hotspot for repeated settler assaults. The incident marks a continuation of intensifying settler violence, often carried out under the protection of Israeli occupation forces, especially as the war and genocide in Gaza fuels tensions across the occupied Palestinian territories. In May alone, Israel's Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission documented 415 settler attacks against Palestinians and their property in the West Bank. These attacks included armed assaults, land destruction, and widespread tree uprooting. Palestinian communities warn that such coordinated settler actions aim to forcibly displace farmers, seize their land, and expand illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank, in violation of international law. Shortlink for this post:
