Gaza Herald- Amnesty International said that Israel has carried out a deliberate campaign of starvation in Gaza, systematically destroying the health, well-being and social fabric of Palestinian life.
The human rights organization revealed in a statement, based on new testimonies from starved civilians, that the ongoing hunger and spread of disease in Gaza is not an “unfortunate byproduct” of Israel’s military operations, but rather an “intended outcome of plans and policies” that Israel has designed and implemented over the past 22 months.
Amnesty International reported that pregnant and breastfeeding women have endured extreme scarcity of indispensable items for their survival. Mothers also experience guilt for failing to provide safety and food and feel anxious about the impact of malnutrition on their children’s growth and well-being.
“As Israeli authorities threaten to launch a full-scale ground invasion of Gaza City, the testimonies we have collected are far more than accounts of suffering, they are a searing indictment of an international system that has granted Israel a licence to torment Palestinians with near-total impunity for decades,” according to Erika Guevara Rosas, senior director for research, advocacy, policy and campaigns at Amnesty International.
She added that “Palestinian children are being left to waste away, forcing families into an impossible choice: helplessly hearing the cries of their emaciated children pleading for food, or risking death or injury in a desperate search for aid.”
She also urged the international community to uphold its moral and legal obligations to end Israel’s ongoing genocide and lift the blockade on food entry in order to save lives in Gaza.
