Seventy human rights organisations have issued a pressing plea to global institutions and relevant authorities to formally recognise the famine in the Gaza Strip. The organisations called attention to the rates of acute malnutrition and its expansion geographically, urging global organisations, such as the UN, to recognise famine in war-torn Gaza. The call comes amidst alarming reports from the Geneva-based Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor, highlighting the dire situation.
The Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor contends that food insecurity is rapidly escalating within the enclave. They attribute this crisis to Israel’s alleged use of starvation tactics as a “weapon of war” against the Palestinian people. These actions, the organisations argue, amount to genocide, as people are being starved due to Israeli policies.
As per their official statement, food security in the Gaza Strip has sharply declined following the Israeli army's ground operation in Rafah City, situated in the southern region of the enclave. This operation, which commenced on May 7, was preceded by the blockade of humanitarian aid trucks at the Rafah crossing a day earlier.
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Due to these decisions to withhold essential supplies from Gaza, thousands of trucks were left stranded on the opposite side of the crossing, rendering them inaccessible to the Gaza residents.
Euro-Med reports that health authorities have officially documented 30 famine-related deaths, with fatalities occurring nearly daily. These dire circumstances are exacerbated by Israeli airstrikes and insufficient medical assistance. The situation has reached critical levels, with more than half a million Gazans facing starvation.
''International pressure must be applied to Israel immediately to stop it from carrying out the crime of starving the people living in the Gaza Strip, to lift the siege entirely, to establish the necessary systems to guarantee the safe, efficient and timely delivery of humanitarian supplies, and to take significant action to address the rapidly spreading famine among Palestinian civilians in the Strip,'' the official statement read.
The human rights organisations also called on Israel to act immediately to implement the precautionary measures announced by the International Court of Justice regarding the opening of the Rafah crossing in order to provide basic services and much-needed humanitarian aid for the people of Gaza.