Türk on the situation in Gaza: Hunger as a method is a war crime
Published: Tuesday, Mar 19th 2024, 13:30
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The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, sees signs that Israel is using hunger in the Gaza Strip as a method of war.
This is a war crime, he announced in Geneva on Tuesday. However, a spokesman for his office said that it would be up to the courts to determine whether this was actually happening. On Monday, the United Nations warned of an imminent famine. Around 1.1 million people are in dire straits.
"The situation of hunger, starvation and famine is a result of Israel's extensive restrictions on the import and distribution of humanitarian aid and commercial goods, the displacement of most of the population and the destruction of vital civilian infrastructure," Türk said. "The extent to which Israel continues to restrict the entry of aid into Gaza, as well as the manner in which it continues hostilities, may amount to the use of starvation as a method of war, which is a war crime."
As an occupying power, Israel has a duty to provide the population with food and medical care. "Israel must ensure that the population has access to this aid in a safe and humane manner," said Türk.
According to the United Nations and international legal experts, Israel is an occupying power because it controls practically all access points and supplies to the Gaza Strip. Israel rejects this because it withdrew militarily from the Gaza Strip in 2005.
Supplies urgently need to be extended and a ceasefire is essential, he said. Türk also called for the release of the hostages abducted in the massacre by Palestinian terrorists in Israel on October 7, 2023. The terrorist attack by Islamist Hamas, the massacres and the abduction of hostages in the Gaza Strip triggered the Gaza War.
©Keystone/SDA
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