Gaza’s famine and the erosion of our humanity

The situation in Gaza today starkly highlights Israeli exceptionalism. Israel is employing the starvation of 2 million Palestinians in the blockaded and devastated Gaza Strip as a tactic to extract political concessions from Palestinian groups operating there.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs last month described the humanitarian situation in Gaza as “the worst it has been” since the outbreak of war in October 2023. Despite the severity of such pronouncements, they often appear to be treated as routine, eliciting little concrete action or substantive discussion.

Israel’s violations of international and humanitarian laws regarding its occupation of Palestine are well-established facts. A new dimension of exceptionalism is emerging, as reflected in Israel’s ability to deliberately starve an entire population for an extended period, with some even defending this approach.

The population of Gaza continues to endure immense suffering, having already experienced the loss of about 10 percent of its number due to deaths, disappearances and injuries. The Gazans are confined to a small, largely destroyed area of about 365 sq. km, facing death from treatable diseases and lacking access to essential services, even clean water.

For the people of Gaza, even fundamental needs now seem unattainable after decades of diminished expectations

Dr. Ramzy Baroud

Despite these conditions, Israel continues to operate with impunity in what seems to be a brutal and protracted experiment, while much of the world observes with varying degrees of anger, helplessness or total disregard.

The question of the international community’s role remains central. While enforcing international law is one aspect, exerting the necessary pressure to allow a population facing starvation access to basic necessities like food and water is another. For the people of Gaza, even these fundamental needs now seem unattainable after decades of diminished expectations.

During public hearings in The Hague that started on April 28, representatives from many nations appealed to the International Court of Justice to utilize its authority to mandate that Israel cease the starvation of Palestinians. Israel “may not collectively punish the protected Palestinian population,” stated the South African representative, Jaymion Hendricks. The Saudi envoy, Mohammed Saud Alnasser, added that Israel had transformed the Gaza Strip into an “unlivable pile of rubble, while killing thousands of innocent and vulnerable people.”

Representatives from China, Egypt, Algeria and other nations echoed these sentiments, aligning with the assessment of Philippe Lazzarini, head of UNRWA, who stated in March that Israel is employing a strategy of “weaponization of humanitarian aid.”

Even when aid was permitted, Israeli forces targeted desperate civilians, including children, who gathered to receive supplies

Dr. Ramzy Baroud

However, the assertion that the weaponization of food is a deliberate Israeli tactic requires no external proof; Israel itself has declared it. Then-Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant publicly announced a “complete siege” on Gaza just two days after the start of the genocidal war.

Gallant said: “I have ordered a complete siege on the Gaza Strip. There will be no electricity, no food, no water, no fuel — everything is closed. We are fighting human animals and we are acting accordingly.” This was not an impulsive outburst but a policy rooted in dehumanizing rhetoric and implemented with extreme violence.

This “acting accordingly” extended beyond closing border crossings and obstructing aid deliveries. Even when aid was permitted, Israeli forces targeted desperate civilians, including children, who gathered to receive supplies, bombing them along with the aid trucks. A particularly devastating incident occurred in Gaza City in February last year, when reports indicated that Israeli fire killed 112 Palestinians and injured 750 more.

This event was the first of what became known as the “flour massacres.” Subsequent similar incidents took place and, in between, Israel continued to bomb bakeries, aid storage facilities and aid distribution volunteers. The intention was to starve Palestinians to a degree that would allow for coercive bargaining and potentially lead to the ethnic cleansing of the population.

Last April, an Israeli military drone struck a convoy of World Central Kitchen vehicles, resulting in the deaths of six international aid workers and their Palestinian driver. This led to a significant departure of international aid workers from Gaza.

A few months later, starting in October 2024, northern Gaza was placed under a strict siege, with the aim of forcing the population south, potentially toward the Sinai desert. Despite these efforts and the resulting famine, the will of the Gazan population did not break. Instead, hundreds of thousands began returning to their destroyed homes and towns in the north once a ceasefire came into effect in January.

When Israel reneged on that ceasefire agreement in March, it once again resorted to using starvation as a weapon. There were few consequences and little strong condemnation from Western governments regarding Israel’s return to war or its starvation policies.

Using the starvation of civilians as a method of warfare is classified as a war crime under international law, as explicitly stated in the Rome Statute. However, the relevance of such legal frameworks is questioned when those who advocate for them and consider themselves guardians of these laws fail to uphold or enforce them.

The inaction of the international community during this period of immense human suffering has significantly undermined the relevance of international law. The potential consequences of this failure to act are grave, extending beyond the Palestinian people to impact humanity as a whole.

Despite this, hope persists that fundamental human compassion, separate from legal frameworks, will compel the provision of essential supplies like flour, sugar and water to Gaza. Any inability to ensure this basic aid will lead to profound questions about our shared humanity for years to come.

• Dr. Ramzy Baroud is a journalist and author. He is editor of “The Palestine Chronicle” and nonresident senior research fellow at the Center for Islam and Global Affairs. His latest book, co-edited with Ilan Pappe, is “Our Vision for Liberation: Engaged Palestinian Leaders and Intellectuals Speak Out.” X: @RamzyBaroud