Israel’s “Weaponization of Food in Gaza Constitutes War Crime”: UN rights office
Geneva (Quds News Network)- The UN Human Rights Office stated on Tuesday that Israel's "weaponization" of food against civilians in Gaza amounts to a war crime, pointing to the controversial aid distribution mechanism backed by Israel and the United States.
Over 520 aid seekers have been killed by Israeli forces near aid distribution sites run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) since it began its operations in Gaza on May 27, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry on Tuesday.
UN human rights spokesperson Thameen Al-Kheetan told reporters at a Geneva press briefing that "desperate, hungry people in Gaza continue to face the inhumane choice of either starving to death or risk being killed while trying to get food,” describing the system as "Israel's militarised humanitarian assistance mechanism".
"The weaponization of food for civilians, in addition to restricting or preventing their access to life-sustaining services, constitutes a war crime and, under certain circumstances, may constitute elements of other crimes under international law."
Asked whether Israel was guilty of that war crime, he said: "The legal qualification needs to be made by a court of law."
Additionally, 39 others have been reported missing after heading to the GHF sites to obtain food.
Israeli mass killings of aid seekers near GHF aid sites have become a grim daily reality amid chaotic scenes, as desperate Palestinians are given only a narrow window to rush for food and are later targeted by Israeli forces.
Gaza’s Government Media Office described these sites as “mass mass traps” and “slaughterhouses”
On March 2, Israel announced the closure of Gaza’s main crossings, cutting off food, medical and humanitarian supplies, worsening a humanitarian crisis for 2.3 million Palestinians, according to reports by human rights organisations who have accused it of using starvation as a weapon of war against Palestinains.
An Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) report last month warned that almost a quarter of the civilian population would face catastrophic levels of food insecurity (IPC Phase Five) in the coming months.
After more than 80 days of total blockade, starvation, and growing international outrage, limited aid has allegedly been distributed by the GHF, a scandal-plagued organization backed by the US and Israel, created to bypass the UN’s established aid delivery infrastructure in the Gaza Strip.
Most humanitarian organisations, including the UN, have distanced themselves from GHF, arguing that the group violates humanitarian principles by restricting aid to south and central Gaza, requiring Palestinians to walk long distances to collect aid, and only providing limited aid, among other critiques.
The UN confirmed that Israel is still blocking food from reaching starving Palestinians with only a few trucks of aid having reached Gaza.
Doctors Without Borders (MSF) warned that “weaponizing aid in this manner may constitute crimes against humanity.”
“Every day Palestinians are met with carnage in their attempts to receive supplies from the insufficient amount of aid trickling into Gaza,” MSF said.
The commissioner-general of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), Philippe Lazzarini, condemned the “lethal” US-Israel aid distribution mechanism in Gaza. In a post on X, Lazzarini indicated that Palestinian lives “have been so devalued”.
“It is now the routine to shoot & kill desperate & starving people while they try to collect little food from a company made of mercenaries,” he said.
“Inviting starving people to their death is a war crime. Those responsible of this system must be held accountable. This is a disgrace & a stain on our collective consciousness.”
