According to Oxfam, starvation is used as a weapon of war by Israel against civilians in Gaza, and around 104 trucks a day would be required to supply food to Gaza to solve the problem.
Following Israel’s cutoff of food, gasoline, water, and electricity supplies to the Gaza Strip, Oxfam has reiterated its plea for the entry of necessities into the besieged area and claimed that starvation was being used as a “weapon of war.”
After Hamas fighters attacked southern Israel from Gaza on October 7, killing at least 1,400 people, according to Israeli authorities, Israel placed a “complete siege” on Gaza.
Apart from the siege, Israel has been bombing the area nonstop, killing around 6,600 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s government (which is led by Hamas).
UN agencies have issued warnings about an impending humanitarian crisis and have begged Israel to permit additional relief vehicles into Gaza. Since the start of the conflict, less than 70 relief vehicles have reached the poor area.
Only “two percent of the food that would have been delivered has entered Gaza since the total siege,” according to a statement released by Oxfam on Wednesday.
According to Oxfam, around 104 trucks a day would be required to supply food to Gaza in order to alleviate the pressing food situation.
An 85-year-old Israeli hostage named Yocheved Lifshitz, who was freed from Gaza on Monday night, criticized the Israeli army’s lack of preparedness in a news conference.
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.”
Citing the restriction against using famine as a weapon of war found in international humanitarian law, Oxfam stated that it was “becoming painfully clear that the unfolding humanitarian situation in Gaza fits the prohibition condemned in the resolution.”
The NGO further asked for an immediate truce so that all essential supplies of food, gasoline, water, and medical equipment could be obtained, as well as a call to the UN Security Council (UNSC) and member nations to stop the situation from getting worse.
The United States is scheduled to present recommendations to the UNSC on Wednesday in an attempt to gain support for brief ceasefires that would allow more relief to reach Gaza, while Russia is slated to present a resolution advocating for a more extensive ceasefire.
UN organizations said on Tuesday that they were appealing for unhindered assistance entry into Gaza and that the population there needed more than 20 times the existing supply.
Three crucial referral hospitals in southern Gaza have received medicine and medical supplies, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). They still had to make it to the Palestinian enclave’s northern region, though.
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