‘Famine is the method, genocide is the goal’
Gaza-based human rights group Al Mezan says that Israel, through its 60-day total blockade on Gaza, is pursuing “a deliberate policy of starvation, enforced with full knowledge of its consequences on two million people”.
In a series of social media posts, the organisation said the Israeli military has bombed at least 28 kitchens and 37 aid centres since its war on Gaza began in October 2023.
In Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza, a kitchen that feeds more than 2,000 Palestinian families per day is running out of supplies, Al Mezan said. Staff have reported they may be forced to close within days as a result of a lack of supplies.
“Statements of condemnation without action are meaningless. Blocking life-saving aid to 2 million civilians is not just unacceptable – it is criminal and genocidal,” Al Mezan said. “The blockade must end. Accountability must be ensured.”
Palestinian Prisoners’ advocacy group appeals to WHO
Several groups representing Palestinian prisoners have issued an urgent appeal to the World Health Organization over the situation in Israeli prisons, particularly in the al-Naqab, Megiddo, Gilboa and Ofer prisons, which is leading to an “unprecedented rate of deaths in custody”.
“The appeal highlighted the outbreak of a number of diseases, including scabies, skin disease, and amoebic infections, chronic diarrhoea, continuous vomiting, in addition to other serious skin diseases. Child detainees are also exhibiting symptoms of undiagnosed and untreated dermatological illnesses,” a Telegram statement from Addameer, the Palestinian Prisoner’s Society, and the Commission of Detainees’ Affairs read.
It added that prisoners were being denied their right to medical care or treatment for the root causes of their illnesses.
“This is not just a public health emergency – it is a humanitarian catastrophe,” the appeal to the WHO noted, adding that at least 65 Palestinian prisoners have died due to starvation and disease since the war on Gaza began in October 2023.
“The deliberate denial of healthcare and hygienic necessities constitutes cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment,” it said.
UNRWA chief rejects ‘unsubstantiated claims to undermine’ agency
Philippe Lazzarini says, “Those using disinformation as a weapon of war must be held accountable.”
Without specifying what disinformation he was referring to, he said in a post on X, “unsubstantiated claims” to undermine the agency “are threatening the lives & wellbeing of UNRWA staff” across Gaza and the occupied West Bank.
As we reported earlier, a US legal representative said during today’s ICJ hearing that there were “serious concerns” with UNRWA’s impartiality.
UNRWA has been a top target of Israel and its supporters, with rights advocates accusing the Israeli government of seeking to dismantle the agency upon which millions of Palestinian refugees across the region rely for assistance.
The war of narratives continue.
Circulating unsubstantiated claims to undermine @UNRWA: a lifeline for 2 million people is ongoing.
Such claims are threatening the lives & wellbeing of UNRWA staff across the #Gaza Strip & the occupied West Bank.
Dehumanising & polarising…
— Philippe Lazzarini (@UNLazzarini) April 30, 2025
