Israel may be using starvation as 'weapon of war': UN
United Nations human rights chief Volker Turk denounced the rampant hunger and looming famine in Gaza.
In a statement slammed by Israel, Turk said that «the situation of hunger, starvation and famine is a result of Israel's extensive restrictions on the entry and distribution of humanitarian aid and commercial goods».
It was also linked to the «displacement of most of the population, as well as the destruction of crucial civilian infrastructure», he said.
«The extent of Israel's continued restrictions on the entry of aid into Gaza, together with the manner in which it continues to conduct hostilities, may amount to the use of starvation as a method of war, which is a war crime.»
His spokesman, Jeremy Laurence, told reporters in Geneva that the final determination of whether «starvation is being used as a weapon of war» would be determined by a court.
— Imminent famine -
The comments came after a UN-backed food security assessment determined that the war-torn Palestinian territory is facing imminent famine.
The devastating war since Hamas's October 7 attack on Israel has left roughly half of Gazans — around 1.1 million people — experiencing «catastrophic» hunger, the assessment warned.
Without a surge of aid, famine would hit the 300,000 people in Gaza's war-battered north by May, it said.
The finding comes just over five months into the Gaza war, which erupted after Hamas's unprecedented October 7 that killed about 1,160 people in Israel, mostly
