Oxfam has renewed its call for essential goods to enter the besieged Gaza Strip and said starvation was being used as a “weapon of war” after Israel cut off supplies of food, water, electricity and fuel to the territory.

Israel imposed a “complete siege” on Gaza after Hamas fighters launched an attack from Gaza on southern Israel on October 7, killing at least 1,400 people according to Israeli authorities.

In addition to the siege, Israel has bombarded the territory relentlessly, killing more than 6,600 people, according to authorities in Gaza, which is governed by Hamas.

United Nations officials have warned of a humanitarian catastrophe and UN agencies and pleaded for Israel to allow more aid trucks into Gaza. Fewer than 70 relief trucks have entered the impoverished territory since the war began.

In a statement on Wednesday, Oxfam said only “two percent of food that would have been delivered has entered Gaza since the total siege”.

To overcome the urgent food crisis, Oxfam said about 104 trucks a day would be needed to deliver food to Gaza.

Sally Abi Khalil, Oxfam’s regional Middle East director, said, “The situation is nothing short of horrific – where is humanity? Millions of civilians are being collectively punished in full view of the world, there can be no justification for using starvation as a weapon of war. World leaders cannot continue to sit back and watch, they have an obligation to act and to act now.”

“Every day, the situation worsens. Children are experiencing severe trauma from the constant bombardment; their drinking water is polluted or rationed, and soon families may not be able to feed them too. How much more are Gazans expected to endure?” Khalil added.

Referencing international humanitarian law, which prohibits starvation as a method of warfare, Oxfam said it was “becoming painfully clear that the unfolding humanitarian situation in Gaza fits the prohibition condemned in the resolution”.

The NGO also called for the UN Security Council (UNSC) and member states to prevent the situation from worsening and demanded an immediate ceasefire so all necessary food, fuel, water, and medical supplies can be met.

The UNSC is expected on Wednesday to consider proposals from the United States, which hopes to secure support for short pauses in the conflict to allow more aid to enter Gaza, and a Russian resolution calling for a broader ceasefire.

On Tuesday, UN agencies said they were pleading for unimpeded aid into Gaza and said more than 20 times the current deliveries were needed to support the population.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) said medicines and health supplies had been delivered to three essential referral hospitals in southern Gaza. However, they still needed to reach the north of the Palestinian enclave.

link: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/10/25/starvation-used-as-a-weapon-of-war-on-civilians-in-gaza-oxfam

archive link: https://archive.ph/On28o

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[–] Tar_alcaran@sh.itjust.works 40 points 1 year ago (3 children)

Since the article doesn't specifically say it, let me point out the tiny little detail that

starving civilians is a fucking warcrime

[–] FriendBesto@lemmy.ml 15 points 1 year ago

Worth noting that the "whoops, those people are using humans as humans shields excuse so that makes it okay to bomb entire buildings, schools, religious places and killing ALL those people," is also a war crime.

As per International Law and also Amnesty International, and if you do not want to be a monster, you cannot okay genocidal, free for all attacks like that on civilians.

Legally, they are not free to start killing civilians and think it is okay. Sure it makes it harder but it is NOT a valid excuse or remove them from liability to then just start killing civilians.

No historian or Lawyer sees the Dresden firebombing attacks in WW2 as not genocidal, even within the context and excuse of modern warfare. This is why there are still ongoing debates on the dropping of nuclear bombs on Japan, even 78+ years after the fact.

I am surprised no one calls the Israel Government or the IDF on such obvious bullshit line of thinking. And I say that having family in Israel. Having them there makes the situation nuanced and complex, but it does not turn me into a blind amoral idiot, either.

They also cannot claim to be the victims or the ones not into the position of power over the Palestinians when they can shut off, water, electricity and food at will and keep them in essentially open air prisons. The UN was correct to say that this did not happen in a vaccum. Yet Israel is trying to pretend as if they were wrong to say that and that we were all born 5 years ago.

The EU head was calling Russia war criminals when they cut off water, electricity and food to some Ukrainian areas but when Israel does it, they cannot trip over themselves hard enough trying to voice support and offer money. And some politicians will conflate and remove all nuance when people support the Palestinian causs and equate it with support for Hamas. Because of course they will.

If anything this has further educated me to see and point out who are the raging hypocrites.

[–] library_napper@monyet.cc 14 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

So is indiscriminate* use of white phosphorus. So is collective punishment. So is targeting civilian infrastructure (bombing residential buildings, hospitals, power plants). So is a disproportionate use of violence. So is moving a civilian population into an occupied territory.

[–] chaorace@lemmy.sdf.org 5 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

I don't say this as a disagreement, but rather just a factchecking exercise: "white phosphorus" isn't synonymous with "war crime" in the way that weapons like cluster bombs are. This is to say that it's possible to use in ways that are compliant with the international rules of war, unlike a many chemical weapons and the aforementioned cluster bombs.

Again, to be crystal clear: I am not on team human immolation. We all know that it is strategically impossible to deploy phosphorus in one of the most densely populated regions on Earth without deliberately choosing to immolate civilians. My hangup here is that the gravity of the situation will not be conveyed to a skeptic if you don't spell out the facts in exacting detail: on October 11th, Israel deployed an airburst of white phosphorus over Gaza city. White phosphorus deployed on a city with a population density of 21,000/sq. mile. Big time classic warcrime.

[–] Cockmaster6000@sh.itjust.works 3 points 1 year ago

Add it to the list. Israel has no motivation to stop because it's facing no consequences.

[–] sheev 22 points 1 year ago (1 children)

We are taking necessary measures to maintain order and security in the affected province. Our actions have proven effective in countering the rebel threat, ensuring the safety of Imperial citizens.

[–] NewDark@lemmings.world 19 points 1 year ago

The fact that this nearly didn't read as satire is alarming.

[–] shiveyarbles@beehaw.org 7 points 1 year ago

Oh you mean two trucks weren't enough?

[–] Maco1969@lemmy.world 5 points 1 year ago

Ironic that this came from Oxfam given that their workers in the UK are about to strike due to having to use food banks because of low wages.