Sweden accuses Israel of war crimes over Gaza aid blockade
STOCKHOLM: Israel's refusal to allow humanitarian aid into Gaza and its targeting of aid distribution points is causing civilians to starve, which constitutes a war crime, Sweden's foreign minister said on Thursday.
In early June, UN human rights chief Volker Turk said deadly attacks on civilians around aid distribution sites in the Gaza Strip constituted 'a war crime,' while several rights groups, including Amnesty International, have accused Israel of genocide.
Israel has vehemently rejected that term.
'To use starvation of civilians as a method of war is a war crime. Lifesaving humanitarian help must never be politicized or militarized,' Maria Malmer Stenergard said at a press conference.
'There are strong indications right now that Israel is not living up to its commitments under international humanitarian law,' she said.
'It is crucial that food, water, and medicine swiftly reach the civilian population, many of whom are women and children living under wholly inhumane conditions,' she said.
Sweden announced in December 2024 that it was halting funding to the UN's Palestinian refugee agency, UNRWA, after Israel banned the organization, accusing it of providing cover for Hamas militants.
Swedish International Development Minister Benjamin Dousa told Thursday's press conference that Stockholm was now channeling aid through other UN organizations, and was 'the fifth-biggest donor in the world ... (and) the second-largest donor in the EU to the humanitarian aid response in Gaza.'
The country's humanitarian aid to Gaza since the start of the war in October 2023 currently amounts to more than 1 billion kronor ($105 million), while funding earmarked for Gaza for 2025 totals 800 million kronor, he said.
Meanwhile, the Palestinian Authority said Internet and fixed-line communication services were down in Gaza following an attack on the territory's last fiber optic cable.
'All Internet and fixed-line communication services in the Gaza Strip have been cut following the targeting of the last remaining main fiber optic line in Gaza,' the PA's Telecommunications Ministry said in a statement, accusing Israel of attempting to cut Gaza off from the world.
'The southern and central Gaza Strip have now joined Gaza City and the northern part of the Strip in experiencing complete isolation for the second consecutive day,' the ministry said in a statement.
It added that its maintenance and repair teams had been unable to safely access the sites where the fiber optic cable was damaged.
'The Israeli occupation continues to prevent technical teams from repairing the cables that were cut yesterday,' it said, adding that Israeli authorities had prevented repairs to other telecommunication lines in Gaza 'for weeks and months.'
The Palestinian Red Crescent said the communication lines were 'directly targeted by occupation forces.'
It said the Internet outage was hindering its emergency services by impeding communication with first responder teams in the field.
'The emergency operations room is also struggling to coordinate with other organizations to respond to humanitarian cases.'
Maysa Monayer, spokeswoman for the Palestinian Communication Ministry, said that 'mobile calls are still available with very limited capacity' in Gaza for the time being.
Now in its 21st month, the war in Gaza has caused massive damage to infrastructure across the Palestinian territory, including water mains, power lines and roads.
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