Middle East

Israel accused of ‘provoking famine’ as UN report warns 1.1m at risk of ‘catastrophic hunger’ in Gaza

EU foreign policy chief’s comments rejected as Israel says it allows humanitarian aid into Gaza despite Hamas attacks on convoys

Members of the Al-Rabaya family break their fast during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan outside their destroyed home in Rafah, Gaza Strip, March 18th, 2024. Photograph: Yasser Qudihe/Middle East Images/AFP/Getty

Mark Weiss
Mon Mar 18 2024 - 20:43

Israel has reacted scathingly after European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell accused the country on Monday of using starvation as a weapon of war.

“In Gaza we are in a state of famine, affecting thousands of people,” Mr Borrell said. “Starvation is used as a weapon of war. Israel is provoking famine.”

Israeli foreign minister Yisrael Katz said Israel allows extensive humanitarian aid into Gaza by land, air and sea despite Hamas attacks on aid convoys.

“It’s time for EU foreign minister Borrell to stop attacking Israel and recognise our right to self-defence against Hamas’s crimes,” he said.

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Mr Borrell’s comments came after a UN-backed report determined that famine is imminent and likely to occur in the next two months in northern Gaza, where some 300,000 residents remain, largely cut off from humanitarian supplies.

Across the whole of the besieged enclave, the number of people at risk of “catastrophic hunger” has risen to 1.1 million, about half of Gaza’s population, the report by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) said.

The study found the number of people deemed at risk of catastrophic hunger across Gaza was nearly double the figure reported in December, when the last report was issued and there was already record hunger.

UN secretary general António Guterres described the report as an “appalling indictment” of conditions on the ground. “This is an entirely man-made disaster and the report makes clear that it can be halted,” he said, calling on Israel to ensure access for humanitarian aid throughout Gaza. Washington called the report “alarming and heart-wrenching”.

US president Joe Biden and prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu discussed ways to increase humanitarian assistance in a phone call on Monday after tension in relations over the conduct of the war.

According to the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry, more than 31,100 Palestinians have been killed since the war began. Israel says 1,200 people were killed and 253 hostages seized in the surprise Hamas attack on October 7th. Some 134 hostages, dead and alive, remain in Hamas captivity.

[ First ship carrying humanitarian aid arrives in Gaza ]

[ Israeli troops raid Gaza’s Shifa Hospital causing multiple casualties ]

Israel says some 20 militants were killed, together with an Israeli soldier, when Israeli forces carried out a surprise raid on Gaza city’s al-Shifa hospital in the early hours of Monday morning. Among those killed was Fa’aq Mabhouh, the head of Hamas’s internal security unit.

Israel Defence Forces spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari announced that troops were conducting a “high-precision operation in limited areas of al-Shifa hospital following concrete intelligence that demanded immediate action”.

“We know that senior Hamas terrorists have regrouped inside al-Shifa hospital and are using it to command attacks against Israel,” he said. “Medical facilities should never be exploited for terror.”

Gaza’s health ministry accused Israel of committing a war crime and said three patients were killed during the raid, including two on life support when the electricity was cut. The Israeli troops said they evacuated women and children from the hospital amid fierce exchanges of fire and detained 80 people, but insisted that the hospital could continue to operate.

The hospital raid came as Israeli negotiators arrived in Doha on Monday for talks aimed at clinching another ceasefire and hostage-release agreement. Under discussion is a three-part deal, under which some 40 women, elderly and sick captives would be set free during an initial 42-day truce.

Mark Weiss

Mark Weiss

Mark Weiss is a contributor to The Irish Times based in Jerusalem

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