The ongoing blockade and genocide in Gaza have left Palestinians suffering in one of the worst humanitarian and human rights crises in modern history.
According to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), Palestinians in Gaza “do not have enough food or clean water” because of the systematic starvation policy against the Strip and the ongoing Israeli genocide that has been going on for more than a year.
On Monday, Louise Waterridge, the agency’s official spokesperson, verified through the “X” platform that “people in Gaza are living without shelter, do not have enough food, and do not have access to clean water.”
“The situation in the Gaza Strip is worse than ever,” she continued. “Bread is hard to come by, and a bag of flour costs more than $200 now, compared to $16 prior to the war, and “the (Israeli) bombing and raids never stop. “The suffering of people here worsens with each hour, and even with each day that goes by.”
These remarks coincide with the 416th day of the Israeli genocide in the Gaza Strip, which has left 44,211 people dead, 104,567 injured—mostly women and children—and over 10,000 people unaccounted for amid widespread devastation and famine that has killed dozens of children and the elderly in one of the world’s worst humanitarian catastrophes.
Due to the Israeli occupation’s blocking of humanitarian aid entering the Strip, Palestinians in Gaza are facing a starvation policy as a result of a lack of food supplies.
The Israeli blockade has made famine worse in most parts of the Strip, particularly in the north, after genocide and starvation have continued. Meanwhile, all parts of the Strip are facing an unprecedented humanitarian crisis, with winter arriving for the second consecutive year for approximately two million displaced Palestinians, the majority of whom are sleeping in tents.
According to the Geneva Conventions, the systematic starvation policy and the blockade of the Strip, which prevents humanitarian aid from entering, are war crimes. The principle of distinction in armed conflict, which mandates the protection of civilians in all situations, is blatantly violated by the ongoing killing of civilians, including women and children, and the denial of their basic necessities.
The international community has a moral and legal obligation to act right away to put an end to this humanitarian crisis, protect Palestinian civilians, and hold those accountable for the extermination war and its effects in Gaza. The international community’s inaction or silence endangers the fundamental values of justice and human rights and perpetuates the culture of impunity.
