No obligation on Israel to remedy starvation in Gaza Strip, says minister
Gaza Strip
, an
Israeli government
minister said on Thursday that Israel had no duty to alleviate hunger in the territory and was seeking to expel its population.
Far-right politician Amichay Eliyahu, who leads Israel's heritage ministry, said in a radio interview that 'there is no nation that feeds its enemies,' adding that 'the British didn't feed the Nazis, nor did the Americans feed the Japanese, nor do the Russians feed the Ukrainians now'.
He concluded that the government was 'rushing toward Gaza being wiped out,' while also 'driving out the population that educated its people on the ideas of 'Mein Kampf'', an anti-Semitic text written by Adolf Hitler.
Life in the West Bank
Listen |
26:12
The office of
Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu
declined to comment on whether Mr Eliyahu's remarks had represented the government's position.
An Israeli military official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said Mr Eliyahu's comments did not reflect military policy.
Mr Eliyahu oversees historical and archaeological sites and institutions in Israel and has no authority over the military. He does not participate in meetings of a small group of ministers who oversee security decisions. His office did not reply to requests for clarification.
Mr Eliyahu's comments were swiftly condemned by Israeli opposition politicians, who said the minister did not represent the Israeli mainstream. Polling suggests a majority of Israelis favour reaching a ceasefire to release hostages held by Islamist group Hamas.
The interview came amid increasing cases of starvation in Gaza. Israel has blocked all food deliveries to the enclave between early March and late May. While Israel allows some food into Gaza, it has drastically reduced the number of places from which food is distributed, forcing Palestinians to receive food aid from a handful of sites that are hard to access.
The UN's Palestinian refugee agency (Unrwa) said that one in five children in Gaza City is malnourished and cases are increasing daily.
Unrwa commissioner-general Philippe Lazzarini cited a colleague telling him: 'People in Gaza are neither dead nor alive, they are walking corpses.'
More than 100 international aid organisations and human rights groups have also warned of mass starvation and pressed for governments to take action.
Israel says there is no siege and blames Hamas for the widespread malnutrition.
Israel and the United States, meanwhile, have recalled their delegations from ceasefire talks for consultations. US envoy Steve Witkoff accused Hamas of failing to act in good faith in the talks.
'While the mediators have made a great effort, Hamas does not appear to be co-ordinated or acting in good faith. We will now consider alternative options to bring the hostages home and try to create a more stable environment for the people of Gaza,' said Mr Witkoff on X.
.
— Department of State (@StateDept)
An Israeli official with knowledge of the talks said the answer presented by Hamas to the most recent ceasefire proposal 'does not allow for progress without a concession' by the group, but that Israel intended to continue discussions.
Mediators have been seeking to clinch an agreement that would secure a ceasefire and the release of hostages still held in the Gaza Strip.
Israel and Hamas are facing pressure at home and abroad to reach a deal after almost two years of war. The humanitarian situation inside the war-torn enclave is deteriorating sharply and Israelis are worried about the conditions in which remaining hostages are being held.
Elsewhere, a senior German government official said
Israel
was violating the law of
war
in
Gaza
, but insisted that
Berlin
will not be the 29th signatory to a letter demanding Israel 'end now' its military action.
[
Germany says Israel 'violating law of war' in Gaza but refuses to sign ceasefire letter
Opens in new window
]
Jürgen Hardt
, foreign policy spokesman for the ruling Christian Democratic Union (CDU), argued the letter was already being used by Hamas and other parts of the Arab world for propaganda purposes.
'That doesn't need to happen with German assistance,' he said.
However, Mr Hardt admitted German officials no longer believe Israel is doing everything it can to allow enough humanitarian aid into Gaza.
– New York Times/Reuters
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