UN official warns of potential death of 14,000 infants in Gaza, breaking his silence to reveal series of Israeli crimes

Yemen Press Agency

7 days ago

GAZA, May 22 (YPA) – The UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food, Michael Fakhri, warned on Thursday that 14,000 infants in the Gaza Strip could die if aid does not enter the Strip now. In an article in The Guardian, Fakhri called on the UN General Assembly to break the illegal blockade and stop the starvation of 2.3 million Palestinians.
Israel uses hunger as a weapon against civilians
Fakhri pointed out that the World Food Programme's stock of food allocated to Gaza kitchens ran out on April 25, while the World Central kitchen closed its operations on May 7.
He emphasized that this is not a new development, as Israel has been using starvation as a weapon against civilians in Gaza since 2000. When Benjamin Netanyahu announced on March 1 that 'the entry of all goods and supplies into the Gaza Strip [would] be halted,'
Fakhri pointed out that Netanyahu was blatantly defying international law, ignoring the International Criminal Court's warrant calling for his arrest for the war crime of starvation, and the provisional measures issued by the International Court of Justice in March 2024, which recognized that famine and starvation were widespread in Gaza, creating a risk of genocide.
He confirmed that Israeli officials, along with US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, had made the release of the hostages a condition for Hamas to provide humanitarian relief to Palestinian civilians.
He added, 'While hostage-taking is prohibited under international law, there is no situation in which humanitarian aid to civilians can be used as a bargaining chip.'
The UN official pointed out that 50% of Gaza's population was suffering from hunger before October 2023, and 80% of them were dependent on humanitarian aid, at a time when 500 trucks loaded with supplies were arriving daily.
He emphasized that Palestinians in Gaza, after 19 months of starvation, need far more than 500 trucks daily.
He pointed out that Israel presented an aid plan for Gaza that the UN Secretary-General described as not based on the international legal principles of humanity, impartiality, independence, and neutrality, but rather a system of 'ruthless control and restriction of aid, down to the last calorie and grain of flour.'
An attempt to 'weaponize aid'
Fakhri recognized that the Israeli aid plan is designed to forcibly relocate Palestinians, concentrating them in southern Gaza under strict oversight by mercenaries or armed Israeli troops. He noted that the United Nations has labeled this plan a military strategy and a deliberate effort to use aid as a weapon.
He also cited UNICEF's statement that 'Israel uses aid as bait to lure civilians into military zones, forcing them to choose between displacement and death.'
Fakhri noted that the United States may take over the aid plan in Israel, but that the U.S. government's operation will be managed by a private foundation, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, with support from the Israeli military. He criticized the foundation, noting that it is opaque and lacks clear details about its source of funding or how it operates in Gaza.
Regardless of who runs it, the United Nations has rejected this 'made in Israel' plan, and UN-backed experts have determined that it will not prevent famine.
'Political threats are flimsy'
The UN rapporteur explained that hundreds of UN aid trucks were ready to enter Gaza amid the Israeli occupation's shelling of a civilian ship attempting to deliver aid.
Fakhri emphasized that the occupation's brutality and the harshness of American support are consistent with their statements, while the international response has been slow and disappointing. He recalled the statements of several countries, with the United Kingdom, France, and Canada threatening to take action if Israel does not halt its attacks and lift its restrictions on aid.
He also pointed to the United Kingdom's suspension of trade negotiations with Israel, adding that monitoring the situation in Gaza over the past 19 months has demonstrated the impact of hunger on children. He considered the current threats and trade suspension to be futile.
'When the Security Council is unable to take action due to a veto, the UN Charter authorizes the General Assembly to intervene under the 'Uniting for Peace' clause,' said Fakhri. This enables the General Assembly to issue a resolution calling on peacekeeping forces to escort humanitarian convoys to Gaza.
He accused Israel of planning to harm the population of Gaza after launching an intensive ground offensive dubbed 'Operation Gideon's Wagons.' He pointed to the escalation of Israeli violence after the blockade of food and water for more than 75 days, which led to a sharp increase in child malnutrition by more than 80% in March and a 3,000% increase in the price of wheat flour since February.