Death toll from famine in Gaza Strip rises to 57

GAZA, May 03 (YPA) – The death toll from famine in the Gaza Strip has been risen to 57, the majority of them children, as the Israeli occupation has continued its systematic starvation policy and preventing the entry of humanitarian aid into the besieged Strip for over 200 days.

The Gaza-based Government Media Office warned in a statement on Saturday this number could continue to rise given the ongoing stifling Israeli blockade and the closure of crossings, particularly the Rafah crossing, for 63 consecutive days.

“The occupation is using food as a weapon of war against more than 2.4 million Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, through the systematic destruction of food sources and the targeting of agricultural infrastructure and food production and distribution facilities, including bakeries, relief centers, poultry and livestock farms, and water wells, the statement explained.

The office strongly condemned these policies, considering them to amount to “full-fledged genocide that the Israeli occupation are carrying out under the world’s watch and with tacit international approval.

It stressed that the continued blockade and the denial of humanitarian aid constitute a “flagrant violation of international humanitarian law,” particularly the 1949 Geneva Conventions, the 1977 Additional Protocol I, and the 1998 Statute of the International Criminal Court.

The office asserted that the starvation policy pursued by the occupying forces constitutes a war crime under international law, and requires criminal accountability before international courts.

It called on the international community, UN organizations, and human rights organizations to take urgent and immediate action to pressure the occupying authorities to open the crossings, particularly the Rafah crossing, to ensure the entry of food, medicine, and aid without restrictions or conditions.

The office warned of a humanitarian catastrophe that could spread in the coming hours.

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