The United Nations on Tuesday condemned Israel’s obvious use of hunger as a weapon in Gaza, a warfare crime, and urged its navy to stop firing on civilians searching for meals.
“Israel’s militarised humanitarian assistance mechanism is in contradiction with international standards on aid distribution,” the U.N. human rights workplace mentioned in written notes supplied earlier than a briefing.
“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.”
The U.S.- and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) started meals distribution operations in Gaza on May 26 after Israel fully reduce off provides into the occupied Palestinian territory for greater than two months, sparking warnings of mass famine.
The U.N. mentioned in May that “100% of the population” of the besieged territory had been “at risk of famine.”
The U.N. and main help teams have refused to cooperate with the GHF – an formally personal effort with opaque funding – over issues it was designed to cater to Israeli navy goals.
U.N. rights workplace spokesman Thameen al-Kheetan warned within the briefing notes of “scenes of chaos around the food distribution points” of the GHF.
Since the group started working, “the Israeli military has shelled and shot Palestinians trying to reach the distribution points, leading to many fatalities,” he mentioned.
He pointed to reviews that “over 410 Palestinians have been killed as a result, (while) at least 93 others have also been reportedly killed by the Israeli army while attempting to approach the very few aid convoys of the U.N. and other humanitarian organizations.”
“At least 3,000 Palestinians have been injured in these incidents,” he mentioned.
“Each of these killings must be promptly and impartially investigated and those responsible must be held to account.”
Kheetan cautioned that the system “endangers civilians and contributes to the catastrophic humanitarian situation in Gaza.”
“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,” he warned.
The U.N. rights workplace demanded quick motion to rectify the state of affairs.
“The Israeli military must stop shooting at people trying to get food,” Kheetan mentioned, additionally demanding that Israel “allow the entry of food and other humanitarian assistance needed to sustain the lives of Palestinians in Gaza.”
“It must immediately lift its unlawful restrictions on the work of U.N. and other humanitarian actors,” he mentioned.
And he referred to as on different nations to “take concrete steps to ensure that Israel, the occupying power in Gaza, complies with its duty to ensure that sufficient food and lifesaving necessities are provided to the population.”
Source: www.dailysabah.com