Israel Continues Its Starvation War on Palestinians Amid Weak International Intervention
Yet, the international community continues to fail to shoulder its responsibility when it comes to ending the Israeli genocidal war against the Palestinian people.
As constant Israeli assaults further deepen their plight, Palestinians have seen their dreams and hopes shattered as their most inalienable rights – including the freedom of movement and the right to food and a safe home – are recklessly trampled upon by Israel while the world either looks away or issues toothless condemnations and inconclusive calls for a ceasefire.
It has been decades since social media and television buzzed about news of famine in Gaza, with Palestinians being relentlessly attacked, forcibly displaced or and unsurprisingly killed by Israeli war machines.
Time repeats itself as do the scenarios, with claims of ongoing dialogues to end the ordeal faced by millions of Palestinians, either those at home or others displaced or refugees across the world.
Today, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, or UNRWA, repeated its multi-million-dollar appeals, warning that Israel is 'starving civilians.'
This includes one million children or more amid an ongoing blockade and a siege on crucial aid deliveries into the region.
Online, videos continue to go viral of hopelessly vulnerable Gazans , including children, with weak and pale faces, in a crowded queue begging for a piece of bread, a soup, a thing – a small thing to either put on their face or run with to feed their families, including the elderly, babies, or even pets.
Over the past weeks, there have been waves of reports of people dying from malnutrition in an era where countries race to use AI in medical fields, where countries invest billions of dollars in non-priorities like games, movies, festivals, and so on.
Al Jazeera correspondent Hind Khoudary reported today on the death of a 35-day-old baby in Gaza and a four-month-old child in Deir el-Balah due to malnutrition at al-Aqsa hospital.
'I am sorry I could not feed you. I had no other option than to see you dying in front of my eyes,' Hind Khoudary recalls the baby's devastated mother as saying.
UNRWA recorded that, as of this past July 13, nearly 900 deaths of hungry Gazans as they were trying to collect food.
And the death toll of Palestinians killed in the ongoing 21-month-long genocidal war exceeded 58,000, while thousands of others were wounded.
'Our Gaza teams started sending alarming photos of emaciated babies. The rates of malnutrition are rapidly increasing, spreading across the Gaza Strip,' the UN said, noting that more than 50 children have died of malnutrition since the siege began on March 2.
One in 10 children in Gaza is screened as malnourished. Starvation to force surrender
Starvation has become another tool in the Israeli war machine's toolkit. In addition to guns, rifles, drones, and missiles, Israel is increasingly using mass starvation to make Palestinians surrender to its project of Judaizing historical Palestine.
Israel killed at least 25 people at dawn today, initiating another day of assaults and somber news of deaths and other miseries compounded by the ongoing genocidal war on Gaea.
Today's fatalities included aid seekers, confirming the Israeli government's utter disregard for non-Israeli and non-White lives.
And how has the world been reacting? With vague condemnations, toothless pledges, and muscle flexing from official channels representing countries across the world.
Meanwhile, civilians from across the world are rallying, calling on their governments and countries to take more concrete and tangible action to stop the genocidal war still endured by millions of Palestinians who live in uncertainty. It remains to be seen when world leaders will finally heed those cries for help. Tags: free palestineIsrael and Palestine
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Morocco World
3 hours ago
- Morocco World
At Least 10 Palestinians Died Due to Forced Starvation in Gaza in 24 Hours
Rabat – At least 10 people died due to forced starvation and malnutrition in Gaza over the past 24 hours, local medical sources confirmed today. At least 25 children died in the past three days due to hunger-related causes, Palestinian news agency Wafa reported today, stressing that the situation is 'growing more desperate by the hour.' The same source identified the estimated number of children suffering from hunger in the region at 900,000, of whom 70,000 have entered critical stages of malnutrition. People with kidney diseases and diabetes face a serious risk due to malnutrition, while many are experiencing other acute medical crises as Israeli Occupation Forces continue their blockade to deprive Palestinians of essential supplies. According to Al Jazeera, the total number of people who starved to death in Gaza reached 111 as of today. The news outlet said at least 80 children have died from malnutrition since the Israeli authorities launched their genocidal war on Gaza in October 2023. Many world leaders and protesters have been denouncing the worsening plight of Palestinians. Converging reports made headlines recently of Tunisian President Kais Saied's meeting with US President's top Africa adviser Massad Boulos. During that meeting, Kais Saied showed the US official images of starving children in Gaza. An official video of the meeting shows the Tunisian president saying: 'It is time for all of humanity to wake up and put an end to these crimes against the Palestinian people…. I believe you know these images well.' The Tunisian president called the situation 'absolutely unacceptable,' describing the situation as a 'crime against all of humanity.' As starvation continues, IOF exacerbates the situation with airstrikes and bombardment. In the past 24 hours, IOF killed at least 100 Palestinians, including 34 aid seekers. The death toll since October 2023 has reached at least 59,219 people, while over 143,045 have sustained injuries. Since May 27, IOF also killed 100 paid seekers, with over 7,207 injured. Tags: AI and Gaza genocideChildren injured in Gaza
Morocco World
6 hours ago
- Morocco World
Gaza Genocide: Israel Continues to Starve Palestinians, Kill Aid Seekers
Rabat — Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) continue to take people's lives in cold blood amid their starvation campaign on Gaza, harming millions in the genocide-torn enclave. Israeli assaults on Palestinians in Gaza killed at least 31 Palestinians today, many murdered while scrambling to gather aid. People across the world, in addition to NGOs, have been launching appeals, calling on the international community to intervene to stop the endless nightmare in Gaza. Mara Bernasconi, the regional communication manager for Humanity and Inclusion UK, said starvation is at the peak level in Gaza, noting that people are starting to 'drop dead' due to famine. Humanitarian workers in the region are not excluded from the starvation war. 'They're incredibly brave and strong, and in the past months, they served people in need while trying to survive, but they are collapsing as well,' she said. Hamas has also responded to Israel's starvation campaign, calling for global protests. Hamas stated that 'people are dying of hunger and malnutrition, and famine is making its deadly presence felt in the faces of children, mothers, and the elderly, amidst a suspicious global silence and the absence of any action that rises to the scale of the catastrophe.' Oxfam also reacted to the inhumane Palestinian suffering from the Israeli-created famine, detailing that their staff are at risk of being shot in the region. 'We've heard from parents boiling tree leaves to feed their children, from aid workers who burned their own clothes to cook the last scraps of lentils that they have, from mothers that we've met saying my son died from hunger, literally in front of my eyes because his body couldn't take it any more,' policy lead for Oxfam Bushra Khalidi said.
Morocco World
21 hours ago
- Morocco World
Gaza is Starving, and the World is Watching it Live
Rabat — Gaza is starving. If you are following any news source or Palestinian creator on social media, it does not take more than 20 seconds on Instagram, LinkedIn, or Facebook to see a picture of a starving child on your feed. This footage has influxed so much to the point that a hashtag is now circulating #GazaIsStarving. This hashtag was reported over the weekend to have been used in over 5,000 posts on Instagram at this point. But, despite this larger awareness campaign, this is not merely a trend. On the contrary, these videos and photos are simply Gazans, reporting quite frankly for the world to see, that they are starving to death in a man-made famine in which Israel is solely responsible. These horrifying images of emaciated bodies are backed by numbers, reported daily. Gaza's health ministry recently reported that 15 people have died, including 4 children, due to malnutrition in the last 24 hours alone. This added to the rising, but likely under-reported, death toll of 101 Gazans who died from malnutrition – 80 of them being children – since the genocide began on October 7. The UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNWRA) has reported an even more alarming number: 1 million — that is how many Gazan children are going hungry. Bread or bullets What's more? Gazans everyday are having to choose between the harsh reality of continuing to wither away from malnutrition or risking their lives to get food. It is no conspiracy theory or false reporting that the US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation 'aid' points are merely danger zones for aid seekers. A Haaretz report released at the end of last month quoted IOF soldiers admitting that they were ordered to fire at unarmed crowds near food distribution centers, despite the lack of any threat being present. One unnamed soldier told the Israeli newspaper that 'between one five people' were killed everyday at these stations, which they described as being 'killing fields.' In a predictable turn of events, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected these claims, calling them 'blood libels,' but the on-site reports and social media footage by Palestinians themselves tell a different story. UN human rights office spokesman Thameen Al-Kheetan told AFP today that: 'As of July 21, we have recorded 1,054 people killed in Gaza while trying to get food; 766 of them were killed in the vicinity of GHF sites and 288 near UN and other humanitarian organizations' aid convoys.' In the above post on Instagram, a man cries over his son, who was reportedly shot while they were waiting for aid at one of these sites. Hunger does not differentiate Even more insidious about Israel's starvation campaign is that weaponizing food affects everyone, even those there to provide help to those in most need. What started as reports of dying Gazan children and the vulnerable is now shifting into reports of malnourished aid workers, UN personnel, reporters, medics, and other volunteers working around the clock desperately to provide support for Palestinians on the ground. UNWRA reported that they are receiving 'desperate messages reporting famine' from their staff in Gaza, while Anera aid organization posted a quote from one of their staff members saying, 'People are falling on the ground due to lack of food. We are really hungry and can't stand on our feet.' An often forgotten part of the suffering amongst the sheer mass of human toll suffering are the animals that are dying from hunger as well. Alongside photos of their own emaciated bodies, Palestinians are sharing photos of their pets as well, skin-and-bone and struggling to get by. 'Gaza is dying, and we are dying with it' Meanwhile, some journalists are risking their lives even further to call out the inhumanity, reportedly going on a hunger strike until Gazan children can eat. Palestinian reporter Wadea Abou Al Saoud posted on his channels that he and a group of other journalists will not eat until 'the youngest child in Gaza has eaten.' AFP issued a recent statement saying that for the first time in its bureau's history, its journalists are facing death by starvation while reporting on the ground. The bureau gave details about the very small staff that is left in the besieged enclave, quoting their pleas for help. 'I no longer have the strength to work for the media,' one of their photographers reported, 'My body is thin and I can't work anymore.' The bureau urged immediate international intervention, stating that they 'refuse to let them die.' Palestinian journalist Anas Al-Sharif reported that '85% of Gaza's population have entered the 'fifth stage' of malnutrition – the most critical and dangerous phase, which is often irreversible even if food becomes available in the future.' The journalist even broke down on a live broadcast – a physical representation of his words: 'I am staggering from hunger, trembling from exhaustion, and resisting the fainting that follows me every moment.' He continued, speaking for journalists in Gaza as a whole saying, 'We stand in front of the camera trying to appear strong, but the truth is that we are falling apart inside. Gaza is dying, and we are dying with it.' Weightless words Israel's war crimes are not going without official condemnation. The head of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) Jonathan Whittall post on X denouncing Israel's starvation campaign: '…Gaza is being starved. Malnutrition is soaring. Hospitals lack essential supplies and are collapsing under relentless waves of casualties,' he wrote, adding that 'a ceasefire is overdue, but that alone won't end this atrocity. All orders of the court must be implemented.' On Monday, multiple foreign ministers from 28 countries banded together to condemn what they described as 'the drip feeding of aid and the inhumane killing of civilians, including children, seeking to meet their most basic needs of water and food' in a collective joint statement. The signees included Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the UK. The statement marks a strong one as many of them, notably, are allies of Israel. Israel responded with an X statement by Oren Marmorstein, foreign affairs spokesperson, stating that they reject the joint statement, calling it 'disconnected from reality' and that it 'sends the wrong message to Hamas.' However, regardless of the slew of condemnations, these words are still weightless unless they come either with direct punitive action, and more specifically, from Israel's strongest ally – the United States. Humanitarian organizations, journalists on the ground, and Palestinians themselves are urging that direct action is more important than ever, and that this catastrophe has surpassed merely a need for awareness campaigns and hashtags. 'Bang the pots' Local, grass-roots organizations on the ground, such as The Sameer Project, are doing their part to help. The 'donations-based' aid initiative has a water campaign that they report provides 16,000 liters a day into central Gaza, specifically in Deir El Balah and Nuseirat, among other locations. They are also working simultaneously on other aid initiatives to provide medical services and food to desperate Gazans. The project has multiple ways in which those wishing to contribute can donate. People around the world continue to mobilize for the Palestinian cause, in a time when it is needed more than ever. Morocco's capital of Rabat witnessed thousands on its streets just this past Sunday, calling an end to the genocide and denouncing Israel's war crimes of mass killing and starvation. Bisan Owda, a name that needs no introduction in the world of Palestinian journalists and content creators, has joined the chorus of those calling for a world-wide mobile action on July 24 specifically protesting against Israel's aid blockade. This online and in-person initiative calls on the world to 'Bang the Pots' and make noise to stop Israel's man-made famine. 'You are not helpless, this is a call for action!' Bisan posted. 'Bang the pots, because the sound of sound of our empty stomach and voice of humanity must be louder than their brutality.'
