JERUSALEM: Amnesty International has accused Israel of enforcing a deliberate policy of starvation in Gaza as humanitarian organisations warn of famine in the Palestinian territory.
The rights group stated Israel is systematically destroying Palestinian health, well-being, and social structures in Gaza.
“It is the intended outcome of plans and policies that Israel has designed and implemented, over the past 22 months, to deliberately inflict on Palestinians in Gaza conditions of life calculated to bring about their physical destruction,“ Amnesty said.
The report includes testimonies from 19 displaced Gazans in makeshift camps and two medical staff treating malnourished children in Gaza City hospitals.
Israel has repeatedly denied allegations of deliberately causing starvation, with its defence ministry rejecting claims of widespread malnutrition in Gaza.
Last week, COGAT, the Israeli body overseeing Palestinian civil affairs, disputed malnutrition figures provided by Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry.
In April, Amnesty accused Israel of committing a “live-streamed genocide” through forced displacement and humanitarian crisis, allegations Israel dismissed as false.
The Israeli military and foreign ministry did not immediately respond to Amnesty’s latest findings when contacted by AFP. – AFP
