Raising concerns over the situation of the people in Gaza, the EU foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, said that Israel is deliberately provoking famine conditions in Gaza and using starvation as a tool of warfare. Israel’s foreign minister promptly refuted this accusation. Borrell emphasised the dire situation, stating that in Gaza, famine is not looming and that it is already a harsh reality, impacting thousands of individuals. He made these remarks during the inauguration of a conference focused on providing humanitarian assistance to Gaza in Brussels.
“This is unacceptable. Starvation is used as a weapon of war. Israel is provoking famine,” he said.
Israel’s response to Borrell
In response, Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz urged Borrell to stop the attacks on Israel and acknowledge its right to self-defense against the crimes perpetrated by Hamas.
Katz, in a statement shared on X, highlighted that Israel has facilitated the entry of substantial humanitarian aid into Gaza through land, air, and sea for those willing to offer assistance, adding that the help was “violently disturbed” by Hamas militants with “collaboration” by the U.N.’s aid agency UNRWA.
Famine in northern Gaza
According to a report supported by the United Nations, famine looms and is expected to strike northern Gaza within the next two months. This comes after over five months of conflict that has razed through the Palestinian territory, resulting in the loss of thousands of lives and severing supply lines.
The report, conducted by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), indicates that across the entirety of the besieged enclave, the count of individuals facing “catastrophic hunger” has surged to 1.1 million, encompassing approximately half of the population.
(With Reuters input)