Human rights organization Amnesty International has released a horrifying new report alleging that the Israeli government is still deliberately allowing civilians in Gaza to starve as a "weapon of war."
In its report released on Thursday, Amnesty cites "heartbreaking testimonies gathered from medical staff, parents of children hospitalized for malnutrition, and displaced Palestinians struggling to survive" to document "acute levels of starvation and desperation in Gaza."
The report pins the primary blame for this situation on Israel's insistence on running what Amnesty describes as a "militarized" system for delivering humanitarian aid via the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation that has resulted in hundreds of Palestinians being killed and thousands more being injured by Israeli forces who have opened fire on civilians seeking food in multiple instances.
Amnesty charges that the Israeli government has barred the United Nations and other international humanitarian assistance organizations from operating inside Gaza and has transformed the process of receiving aid into a "booby trap" for civilians who risk getting shot while standing in line for food. Compounding the problem, writes Amnesty, is that Israel is delivering a level of aid that is "way below the humanitarian needs of a population that has been experiencing almost daily bombings for the last 20 months."
This slow trickle of aid is despite the fact that hundreds of trucks containing aid are stationed near the Egyptian border with Gaza but are barred from entering the territory, writes Amnesty.
"As the occupying power, Israel has a legal obligation to ensure Palestinians in Gaza have access to food, medicine and other supplies essential for their survival," said Agnès Callamard, the secretary general of Amnesty International. "Instead, it has brazenly defied binding orders issued by the International Court of Justice in January, March and May 2024, to allow the unimpeded flow of aid to Gaza. Israel has continued to restrict the entry of aid and impose its suffocating cruel blockade and even a full siege lasting nearly eighty days."
Amnesty released its report hours after the Associated Press reported that two American contractors who are helping to distribute aid in Gaza are alleging that Israeli forces have been deploying "live ammunition and stun grenades" on unarmed civilians seeking food. In one instance, a contractor alleged he saw members of Israeli forces firing bullets in "all directions—in the air, into the ground, and at times toward the Palestinians."
"There are innocent people being hurt," said one contractor, who wished to remain anonymous to avoid retaliation for revealing information on their employer's internal operations. "Badly. Needlessly."
The Israeli Foreign Ministry defended its aid program to Gaza in a post on the social media platform X and baselessly accused Amnesty of being in league with the terrorist organization Hamas.
