Ankara: Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa declared the Gaza Strip a ‘famine-stricken zone’ on Wednesday, as Israel continued to block the entry of food and aid into the blockaded enclave. “We declare Gaza a famine-stricken area,” Mustafa told a press conference in the West Bank city of Ramallah.
According to Anadolu Agency, the Palestinian premier urged all UN member states to take urgent action according to their obligations under international humanitarian law and recognize the situation in Gaza as a disaster and famine. He called on the international community to implement UN resolutions that prohibit the use of starvation as a weapon of war and appealed to the UN system to activate its mechanisms to treat Gaza as a famine zone.
Since March 2, Israel has closed Gaza’s crossings to food, medical, and humanitarian aid, worsening an already critical humanitarian crisis in the enclave. Nearly 2.4 million people in Gaza rely entirely on humanitarian aid, based on World Bank data. Reports from Gaza’s government media office indicate at least 57 Palestinians have died of starvation since October 2023.
The conflict has resulted in the deaths of more than 52,600 Palestinians in Gaza since October 2023, most of whom were women and children. The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants in November for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza. Additionally, Israel is facing a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its actions in the enclave.