UN experts: famine spreads throughout Gaza Strip

United Nations experts affiliated with the Human Rights Council declared July 9 that famine has now undoubtedly spread throughout the Gaza Strip. The expert determination follows the deaths of three more Palestinian children in May and June. Six-month-old Fayez Ataya, 13-year-old Abdulqader al-Serhi, and nine-year-old Ahmad Abu Reida were all found by the experts to have died from malnutrition. The experts stressed that inaction by the international community amounts to complicity, adding: "Israel's intentional and targeted starvation campaign against the Palestinian people is a form of genocidal violence and has resulted in famine across all of Gaza."

Following South Africa's proceedings against Israel, the International Court of Justice has twice this year ordered Israel to prevent the blocking of humanitarian aid into Gaza, warning of potential violations of the Genocide Convention, and noting in the second order that famine was setting in. The UN World Food Program additionally found in May that North Gaza was experiencing a "full-blown famine" in May, the first official UN confirmation of famine in the Strip.

The expert group called on the international community to "prioritise the delivery of humanitarian aid by land by any means necessary, end Israel's siege, and establish a ceasefire." The experts reported that at least 34 Palestinians have died from malnutrition since the current crisis began on Oct. 7, most of whom were children. According to the Gaza Ministry of Health, 37,232 Palestinians in Gaza have been killed and over 85,000 have been injured as of June 13.

The expert group is composed of special rapporteurs, independent experts, and working group members, and operates as part of the fact-finding and monitoring mechanisms of the UN Human Rights Council.

From Jurist, July 10. Used with permission.

See our last reports on genocide accusations against Israel.