If not killed in the ongoing Israeli bombing, 400,000 Palestinians could be starved to death in northern Gaza
Palestinians at the site of an Israeli air strike around tents for displaced people inside the walls of Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza, early on 14 October 2024
Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor reports on 14 October 2024:
Due to the Israeli decision to bar any humanitarian aid or goods from reaching northern Gaza for the past several weeks, more than 400,000 Palestinians in northern Wadi Gaza could be starved to death. This comes as Israeli occupation forces continue their massive attack on northern Gaza for the 10th consecutive day in an effort to evacuate the region of its inhabitants.
Due to the ongoing Israeli siege, about 200,000 Palestinians in the northern Gaza governorate have been without food or drinking water for 10 full days now. This is occurring as the Israeli army continues its invasion of the region, killing over 350 Palestinians and injuring hundreds more, while also destroying numerous homes and residential buildings.
After their limited food supplies ran out, dozens of Palestinians trapped in the Jabalia refugee camp were forced to head to the main food supply centre of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) on Monday morning in order to secure food for their families. However, the Israeli army targeted them with shells and quadcopter drones, killing 10 people and injuring at least 40 more. Many of the victims are still lying in the streets and cannot be taken to the hospital due to the threat of further Israeli violence.
Given Israel’s declared decision to bar any aid from entering northern Gaza, which is the site of one of its biggest crimes of starvation, the survivors of this intense shelling are in danger of starvation. Israel’s use of starvation as a lethal weapon and its imposition of living conditions that are meant to truly destroy the Palestinian population illustrate its blatant intent to continue carrying out the genocide it has been committing for more than a year in the Gaza Strip.
Thousands of residents trapped in Jabalia, Beit Lahia, and Beit Hanoun in the northern Gaza Strip have run out of food supplies, especially since Israel began blocking the entry of any goods or aid about three weeks prior to its most recent military incursion. Many of the trapped residents had already been repeatedly forced from their homes and shelters, leaving behind personal possessions and food supplies each time they flee.
Since the Israeli army blocks the entry of aid and goods to all areas north of the Gaza Valley, including the Gaza and North Gaza governorates, the residents who were forced to evacuate to Gaza City also lack food supplies and shelter.
For 10 days, the Euro-Med Monitor field team has documented hundreds of Israeli raids and shellings that have targeted homes, shelters, and streets in northern Gaza. Many victims and injured people are still stuck in the streets or homes, as they cannot be transported to hospitals; this is because Israeli forces have banned ambulances from moving through most of Jabalia and its camp. Additionally, the only hospitals that can receive victims and injured people are the Kamal Adwan and Al-Awda hospitals, where medical teams operate in extremely difficult conditions with limited resources.
Swift international intervention is required to force Israel to allow life-saving aid into northern Gaza and to halt its genocide against Palestinians across the entire Gaza Strip. The United Nations and the international community must intervene immediately to save the lives of hundreds of thousands of individuals in northern Gaza; to stop Israel’s genocide, backed by the West and now entering its second year; to impose a comprehensive arms embargo on Israel; to hold it accountable for all its crimes, and to take all effective measures to protect Palestinian civilians.
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