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Days of Palestine
24-07-2025
- Politics
- Days of Palestine
Israeli Occupation Engineers Starvation to Exterminate Gazan Population
IDaysofPal- Since launching its war on Gaza in October 2023, Israeli occupation forces have adopted a deliberate military policy known as 'engineering starvation', aimed at strangling the Gaza Strip and subjugating its population by using food and medicine as weapons of war, in blatant violation of international humanitarian law and the Geneva Conventions. Such Israeli policy centers on total control over border crossings, blocking the entry of humanitarian aid and essential goods, restricting relief operations, and deliberately targeting food and agricultural infrastructure. According to field reports, these measures have severely worsened famine, especially among children, the sick, and the elderly, amid rising death tolls among those risking their lives just to obtain food. Economist Dr. Nael Mousa explained that 'engineering starvation' refers to the systematic implementation of policies that dry up sources of food, water, and medicine in a specific area to break the will of its people. In an interview with Felesteen Online, he noted that the policy has been clearly applied in Gaza through the complete closure of crossings, the banning of many essential goods, and strict limits on the entry of fuel and electricity, leading to the collapse of food production and cold storage chains. Moreover, Mousa emphasized that these policies have created widespread food insecurity, forcing thousands of families to search for food under extremely dangerous conditions, even at the risk of death. Economist Dr. Haitham Draghmeh added that all alternative methods proposed to address the food crisis have utterly failed. He pointed out that air-dropped aid often landed in uninhabited areas, the sea, or zones under Israeli control. Some airdrops even resulted in the death of civilians, including children, due to the uncontrolled fall of containers. Furthermore, much of the food dropped was military-grade and did not meet the needs of Gaza's severely starving population. Draghmeh also addressed the 'maritime corridor' project, saying it has not functioned regularly and has ultimately failed. Its appearance coincided with a spike in military escalation, notably the Nuseirat massacre in March 2025, in which more than 600 people were killed when Israeli forces stormed the camp. In addition, he also criticized the role of the Israeli-American GIHF organization, calling it a 'death trap.' Although it brought in limited aid shipments, the distribution was chaotic and uncoordinated, and aid-seekers were frequently targeted, resulting in the deaths of hundreds at distribution points. He said the organization was used as a media tool to justify the continued closure of crossings, even as the elderly, the sick, and women were unable to access aid amid deadly chaos. Draghmeh stressed that all these alternative methods do not equal even one full day of aid flow through the Karem Abu Salem crossing if opened regularly. According to reports from the United Nations, World Bank, and international relief organizations, Israel's starvation policy has led to more than 470,000 people in Gaza facing 'catastrophic hunger' (Phase 5 of the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification), while the entire population of Gaza suffers from acute food insecurity, making it one of the worst humanitarian crises of the modern era. Shortlink for this post:
Days of Palestine
02-06-2025
- Politics
- Days of Palestine
World Watches in Silence as Israel Kills Gaza's Children with Hunger and Fire
DaysofPal — For over 19 months, the Israeli occupation forces have waged a relentless war on the Gaza Strip, systematically targeting Palestinian children and treating them as strategic objectives. This occurs in blatant violation of international laws and conventions that guarantee the protection of civilians—especially children, who are among the most vulnerable in times of conflict. Since the beginning of the Israeli assault on October 7, 2023, more than 50,000 children have been killed or injured, according to official Palestinian sources and UNICEF. The scale of the devastation shows that children are not merely collateral damage—they are direct victims of what many are calling a campaign of genocide. Children Under Fire Gruesome footage from the ground reveals scenes of horror: the small, fragile bodies of children torn apart by missile strikes, often alongside their families. Residential neighborhoods, schools, and shelters have all been repeatedly targeted. Many of the victims are under six years old. Social media continues to be flooded with heartbreaking images—children pulled lifeless from the rubble of destroyed homes, others lying in morgues, and many more suffering catastrophic injuries without access to medical care. Deliberate Targeting Amid Global Silence Ayed Abu Eqtaish, Accountability Program Director at Defense for Children International – Palestine, stated in an interview with Felesteen Online that Israel has pursued a deliberate policy of targeting civilians, particularly children, who make up half the population of Gaza. 'The occupation intentionally bombs civilian facilities that should serve as safe havens,' Abu Eqtaish said. 'This naturally leads to an increase in child casualties.' He emphasized that Israel's use of siege and starvation as tools of war constitutes systematic aggression aimed at genocide. 'More than 17,000 children have been killed, and over 50,000 injured. These numbers are catastrophic and demonstrate the scale of the crime,' he added. Abu Eqtaish also noted that cutting off humanitarian aid, sealing border crossings, and destroying essential infrastructure—such as hospitals and food distribution centers—are forms of collective punishment. 'This is a fully-fledged war crime committed in full view of the international community,' he warned. UNICEF: A Generation Under Siege According to UNICEF, more than one million children in Gaza have been under siege for over 90 days, suffering from severe shortages of food and clean water. Supplementary nutrition has run out completely, and formula is available for only 400 infants, while over 10,000 are in urgent need. The agency also reported that 21 nutrition treatment centers—which had been providing life-saving care for hundreds of malnourished children—have shut down due to the ongoing blockade and bombardment. A Humanitarian Catastrophe Unfolding The figures speak for themselves: tens of thousands of child casualties, a healthcare system in collapse, and an entire generation being starved, bombed, and abandoned. And yet, the world remains largely silent. What is happening in Gaza is not just a humanitarian crisis—it is a historic moral failure. Unless international pressure mounts to stop this war, provide unimpeded aid, and hold perpetrators accountable, the death toll among Gaza's children will only continue to rise. Shortlink for this post:
Days of Palestine
25-05-2025
- General
- Days of Palestine
Tragedy of Displacement in Gaza Deepens Amid Bombardment and Siege
DaysofPal – The streets and sidewalks of the Gaza Strip have turned into open-air shelters for thousands of displaced people fleeing death, as Israeli airstrikes once again force mass displacement from the north — amid a total absence of safe havens or humanitarian services. In one of the harshest waves of displacement since the outbreak of Israel's genocidal war on October 7, 2023, hundreds of thousands of residents have been forcibly uprooted under relentless bombardment, leaving behind destroyed homes and shattered memories. For days, the bombing in northern Gaza has not ceased. The Israeli occupation has issued evacuation orders for the entire province, forcing civilians to flee toward central and western Gaza City. Families carry what little remains of their belongings and torn tents. This humanitarian disaster continues to escalate under the weight of a total blockade and the closure of all crossings for over 80 days — worsening starvation, collapsing basic services, and unfolding amid the failure of humanitarian organizations, the silence of the international community, and unflinching U.S. support for Israel's machinery of death. Bombing and Massacres In a haunting scene that encapsulates the cruelty of war, Um Mohammad Abu Halima pitched her tent over a massive crater caused by an Israeli missile on Al-Nafaq Street in central Gaza City. 'We couldn't find a place to set up our tent. Even the sidewalks are full. Tents are everywhere,' she told Felesteen Online, her voice weary, her eyes distant. Um Mohammad fled from Al-Salateen in Beit Lahiya and now lives under a torn tent with 20 children and grandchildren. This is their sixth displacement since the war began. 'We returned home after the January ceasefire thinking the war was over,' she said. 'But the occupation forced us out again with bombing and massacres.' 'We lost 45 members of our extended family in one massacre. Now we live under a piece of cloth — no food, no medicine, barely able to breathe.' Repeated Displacement and Starvation A few metres away, Iyad Al-Attar sat beside his makeshift tent in the middle of the road, having fled again from the north. 'For the past few days, the shelling hasn't stopped. The occupation is deliberately targeting civilians — our fear grows with every hour,' he told Felesteen Online. 'I've been displaced eight times during this war. This time was the worst. We walked on foot from Al-Atatra through relentless shelling.' 'We are truly starving,' he added. 'We sleep hungry, wake up hungry. We can't even find a crust of bread. The community kitchens are gone.' Nearby, Abu Ahmad Ma'rouf and his children cleared rubble to erect their tent on the roadside after fleeing from Beit Lahiya's housing project. 'This time, it's like a new, more brutal war has started. Everything that moves is targeted,' he said. 'There are ten of us. We're suffering from hunger and thirst. There's no clean water, no toilets, no protection.' Families on Traffic Islands Um Youssef Ahmed had no option but to pitch her tent on a traffic island with her husband and six children. 'If we had any other choice, we wouldn't have come here,' she said. 'Every minute, we fear a car will hit one of our kids. We have no privacy, no safety.' Um Youssef had been displaced from Jabalia to Khan Younis, then Rafah, then Deir al-Balah. She returned to her destroyed home during the ceasefire, trying to salvage fragments of their former life. But now, with the war resumed, she's once again back in the streets. Shortlink for this post:
