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Israeli blockade breaks Geneva Convention, Palestinians left without ‘food, fuel, medicine’: UN chief
No food, no fuel, no medicine.
That, according to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, is the situation in Gaza after over a month of Israel’s total blockade of aid.
Guterres called out Israel for violating its obligations under international law. In his remarks, he cited articles 55, 56 and 59 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, which states that, among other things, occupying powers such as Israel are obligated to provide food and medical supplies to the people they are occupying.
And if part of the population is inadequately supplied, the occupying power must agree to facilitate aid. Guterres also called for an independent investigation into Israel’s killing of humanitarian aid workers including UN staff.
When asked about US President Donald Trump’s plan to forcibly evict Palestinians from Gaza, the secretary-general said he unequivocally opposed any plan that would do that. He said it was a violation of international law and that the only solution was for Palestinians to remain on their land and live side-by-side with Israelis.
60,000 Gaza children malnourished as Israel’s blockade continues
As food supplies dwindle in Gaza, more and more children are suffering from malnutrition, medics and aid workers warn.
As a result, 60,000 children are now “at risk of severe health complications due to malnutrition”, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.
Meanwhile, displacement orders issued by the Israeli military have forced the closure of 21 nutrition centres, disrupting care for about 350 children already severely malnourished, according to the UN.
Children line up for food cooked by a charity kitchen in Rafah, southern Gaza
‘We can’t survive the hunger’
Six weeks since Israel cut off all supplies to the 2.3 million residents of Gaza, food stockpiled during a ceasefire at the start of the year has all but run out. Emergency meal distributions are ending, bakeries are closed, and markets are empty.
In a camp of plastic sheets where she lives with her displaced family in Khan Younis, Rehab Akhras, 64, used cardboard to light a fire and boil a can of beans. It’s all they have left.
“We’re a family of 13 people, what will one can of fava beans do for us?” she said. “We have survived the war and we survived the air strikes as we wake up and go to sleep. But we can’t survive the hunger, neither us nor our children.”
Medical charity MSF says it is encountering children and pregnant women with severe malnutrition. Lactating mothers are themselves too hungry to be able to breastfeed.
Gaza faces ‘worst conditions’ since war began
Amjad Shawa, director of the Palestinian Non-Governmental Organizations Network, says Palestinians in Gaza face dire conditions because of Israel’s total blockade on the territory.
“We are living hour by hour, day by day; we cannot plan for the next hour,” Shawa told Al Jazeera from Gaza City.
He explained that, in the weeks since Israel cut off humanitarian aid to the enclave, local groups have been delivering meals through community kitchens.
“Now, it’s rice and macaroni – the minimal thing we can deliver,” Shawa said. “To get water to the people, it’s something very difficult and risky. So we are getting water from different resources … now, the share of water for the family has become less and less.”
He added that Palestinians are also struggling to get adequate shelter and medicine. Many also need psychosocial support to deal with the trauma they are experiencing.
