Children in Gaza have been dying from starvation-related complications since the Israeli government began using starvation as a weapon of war, a war crime, Human Rights Watch said on Tuesday.
The watchdog cited doctors and families in Gaza who described children, as well as pregnant and breastfeeding mothers, suffering from severe malnutrition and dehydration, and hospitals ill-equipped to treat them.
“Concerned governments should impose targeted sanctions and suspend arms transfers to press the Israeli government to ensure access to humanitarian aid and basic services in Gaza, in accordance with Israel’s obligations under international law and the recent International Court of Justice order in South Africa’s genocide case,” HRW stated.
“The Israeli government’s use of starvation as a weapon of war has proven deadly for children in Gaza,” said Omar Shakir, director at Human Rights Watch in occupied Palestine.
“Israel needs to end this war crime, stop this suffering, and allow humanitarian aid to reach all of Gaza unhindered.”
Over 1 million people in Gaza face catastrophic levels of starvation, according to the world’s leading body on food emergencies. Doctors say children have been dying of malnutrition. Israel has been accused of restricting aid and downplaying the famine. https://t.co/krdYHNRiQ4
— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) April 4, 2024
A United Nations-coordinated partnership of 15 international organizations and UN agencies investigating the hunger crisis in Gaza reported on March 18, 2024, that “all evidence points towards a major acceleration of death and malnutrition.”
The partnership said that in northern Gaza, where 70 percent of the population is estimated to be experiencing catastrophic hunger, famine could occur anytime between mid-March and May.
Human Rights Watch said its health advisers reviewed death certificate, verified pictures and videos online of other evidently emaciated children who died and others in critical condition who also showed signs of emaciation.
International humanitarian law prohibits the starvation of civilians as a method of warfare. The Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court provides that intentionally starving civilians by “depriving them of objects indispensable to their survival, including willfully impeding relief supplies,” is a war crime, HRW stressed.
27 children reportedly died from malnutrition in #Gaza, since October 2023. This number will grow if a ceasefire doesn’t happen immediately and safety is not ensured for a scaled up aid delivery. pic.twitter.com/gJyUUnshyR
— Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (@DrTedros) April 3, 2024
Source: HRW
