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SvennoJ on 04 May 2025
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Israel’s total blockade: What does international law stipulate?

The Fourth Geneva Conventions of 1949 form the basis of what’s known as international humanitarian law (IHL), or the laws of war. Among other things, they include obligations that occupying powers hold towards civilians living in occupied territory.

In the case of Gaza, the Palestinian territory is considered to be occupied and Israel is the occupying power.

Article 55 of the Fourth Geneva Conventions states that “to the fullest extent of the means available to it, the Occupying Power has the duty of ensuring the food and medical supplies of the population; it should, in particular, bring in the necessary foodstuffs, medical stores and other articles if the resources of the occupied territory are inadequate”.

Article 59 also stipulates that if the population of an occupied territory does not have adequate supplies, the occupying power “shall agree to relief schemes on behalf of the said population, and shall facilitate them by all the means at its disposal”.

It adds that those schemes can be organised by states or humanitarian groups and “shall consist, in particular, of the provision of consignments of foodstuffs, medical supplies and clothing”.

“All Contracting Parties shall permit the free passage of these consignments and shall guarantee their protection,” it says.



‘Beyond imagination’: Israel’s total siege on Gaza enters ninth week

The UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, says there “must be a concerted international effort” to stop the “humanitarian catastrophe” in Gaza from “reaching a new unseen level”.

In a post on X, UNRWA said the humanitarian situation is now “beyond imagination”, with the “complete blocking of supplies essential for survival” now in its ninth week.



More than 3,500 children under 5 ‘face imminent death by starvation’ in Gaza: Media Office

Gaza’s Government Media Office says more than 70,000 children are being hospitalised in the enclave due to severe malnutrition as Israel prevents the entry of baby formula, nutritional supplements and all forms of humanitarian aid.

“Under this systematic blockade, more than 3,500 children under the age of five face imminent death by starvation, while approximately 290,000 children are on the brink of death,” the statement published on Telegram said.

“At a time when 1.1 million children daily lack the minimum nutritional requirements for survival, this crime is being perpetrated by the ‘Israeli’ occupation using starvation as a weapon, amid shameful international silence,” it added.


Mona al-Raqab cares for her son Osama, five, whose cystic fibrosis has worsened since the start of the war, she says, due to the lack of meat, fish and enzyme tablets to help him digest food


Seven new child malnutrition cases as Gaza situation worsens

Attacks continue across the Gaza Strip, where at least 23 Palestinians have been killed since dawn. There was an air strike on a tent where at least 10 Palestinians were killed – seven victims were children and women. Health workers say the situation in hospitals is collapsing.

Meanwhile, very little food is available, and what remains is extremely expensive. People cannot afford it with prices 100 percent higher than what they used to be. Palestinians tell us most of the hot-meal kitchens they used to depend on are closed or have been attacked by Israeli forces. People are walking the streets looking for food. Parents are unable to feed their children.

Health officials at Nasser Hospital reported seven new malnutrition cases just in the past few hours. Parents did not even know their children were malnourished but displayed symptoms such as headaches and vomiting.