The Israeli occupation is systematically working on starving the people of the Gaza Strip and depriving them of their rights, according to Tlateng Mofokeng, the UN Special Rapporteur on the right to physical and mental health.
In a press conference held in Geneva on the health situation of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, Mofokeng stated that Gaza is unequivocally witnessing genocide.
She added that it is difficult to collect data on the number of people who need medical evacuation in the Strip due to the destruction of infrastructure, pointing out that the medical evacuation rate in Gaza is “very low,” at 47 percent, as many health care facilities are completely dysfunctional.
The UN rapporteur described medical evacuations as just a type of support, but not a permanent solution to their needs, noting that humanitarian agencies and United Nations were facing difficulties with evacuations even before October 7.
Since the start of the Israeli war on Gaza 6 months ago, 520 health care workers have been injured, and 350 others have been killed.
Mofokeng stressed that the Israeli occupation not only kills Palestinian civilians and causes them irreparable harm, but with the help of its allies, it deliberately causes a famine, malnutrition for long periods, and drought.
The population of Gaza, especially the Gaza and North governorates, are on the verge of famine, due to a severe scarcity of food, water, medicine and fuel supplies, and the displacement of about two million Palestinians from the Strip, which has been besieged by the occupation for 17 years.
The right to food is guaranteed under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, which requires the international community and humanitarian institutions to provide the necessary food aid to the people of Gaza.
Since last October 7, 2023, the Israeli occupation forces have been waging a devastating war on the Gaza Strip, leaving catastrophic humanitarian and health conditions, due to the ongoing bombing and the prevention of supplies of food, water, medicine, and electricity.
The Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip constitutes a blatant violation of international humanitarian law and human rights, as it exposes the lives and property of civilians to extreme danger, and causes them great suffering, which requires urgent international intervention to end the aggression and protect civilians in the Gaza Strip.
