Near East

Gaza : children die in silence

- 11:04 am
Children in Gaza are starving to death (UNRWA)

Children in Gaza are starving to death (UNRWA)

Hunger has become a weapon of war according to the UN, which denounces systematic “carnage” as hundreds of Palestinian civilians die trying to access food aid.

In Gaza, children are dying of hunger (UNRWA)
In Gaza, children are dying of hunger (UNRWA)

Since the partial lifting of the Israeli blockade on Gaza a month ago, a new tragedy is unfolding in the Palestinian enclave. More than 400 people have reportedly died simply trying to access humanitarian aid distribution points, according to Jonathan Whittall, head of the UN humanitarian office for the occupied Palestinian territory.

“The simple act of wanting to survive has become a death sentence,” declared Mr. Whittall on Sunday from Deir al-Balah, in southern Gaza, after visiting Nasser hospital “overflowing with wounded.”

An Organized System of Terror

Testimonies gathered by UN officials paint a picture of systematic violence. On June 18, more than 60 people were killed and hundreds wounded when a tank opened fire on a crowd waiting for aid trucks. The American-Israeli distribution points are reportedly “deliberately installed in militarized zones,” turning every supply attempt into a deadly trap.

“Live ammunition, bombardments, armed gangs, ambushes: everything I just described is entirely preventable. These are conditions created to kill,” states Mr. Whittall, who no longer sees this situation as a tragic sequence of events, but as a genuine system of terror.

UNRWA on the Brink of Collapse

Philippe Lazzarini, director of UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, shares this alarming assessment. Speaking Saturday in Istanbul before ministers of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, he called the humanitarian aid mechanism an “abomination that humiliates and degrades people in distress.”

The agency, which still provides more than 15,000 daily medical consultations, faces an unprecedented crisis. At least 318 of its staff members have been killed since the conflict began, often along with their families. An Israeli law adopted in January now prohibits its activities in Israeli-controlled areas, including East Jerusalem.

“UNRWA’s financial situation is critical. Without additional funding, I will be forced to make unprecedented decisions very soon,” warns Mr. Lazzarini.

Gaza: famine, a weapon of war for Israel (UN screenshot)
Gaza: famine, a weapon of war for Israel (UN screenshot)

Total Humanitarian Catastrophe

On the ground, nearly two million people are now concentrated in less than 20% of Gaza’s territory. UNICEF reports an average of more than 110 admissions for child malnutrition every day since January. Hospitals are overwhelmed, UN warehouses empty, drinking water virtually non-existent.

Francesca Albanese, UN Special Rapporteur, denounced on social media the “absurdity” of seeing “the state accused of genocide and starvation in charge of distributing aid,” calling this situation “humanitarian camouflage.”

Appeals to the International Community

Faced with this situation, UN officials are calling for sanctions, increased political pressure, and a lasting ceasefire in accordance with International Court of Justice decisions.

“What we are witnessing is carnage. It’s hunger used as a weapon. Taken together, these facts give the impression that this is the pure and simple erasure of Palestinian life in Gaza,” concludes Jonathan Whittall, summarizing the scope of a tragedy unfolding before the eyes of the international community.

 

 

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