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Stop Weaponizing Food – 100 NGOs Tell Israel

CrossFireArabia
August 14, 2025

More than 100 aid organizations have accused Israel of weaponizing starvation by blocking life-saving aid from entering Gaza, leaving vast quantities of relief supplies stranded in warehouses while more Palestinians starve.

In a joint statement on Thursday, the groups, including Doctors Without Borders and Oxfam, said that aid trucks have massed on Gaza’s borders amid Israel’s blockade of the famine-stricken territory, and new rules are being used by Israel to deny the entry of food, medicine, water and temporary shelters.

“Despite claims by Israeli authorities that there is no limit on humanitarian aid entering Gaza, most major international NGOs [nongovernmental organisations] have been unable to deliver a single truck of life-saving supplies since 2 March,” the groups said.

“Instead of clearing the growing backlog of goods, Israeli authorities have rejected requests from dozens of NGOs to bring in life-saving goods, citing that these organisations are ‘not authorised to deliver aid’,” the groups added.

Relief organisations that have worked in Gaza for decades are now told by Israel that they are not “authorised” to deliver aid due to new “registration rules”, which include so-called “security” vetting.

Hospitals in Gaza are now without basic supplies as a result, and children, the elderly and those with disabilities are “dying from hunger and preventable”, the statement noted.

The more than 100 relief organisations have called for pressure to be exerted on Israel to end its “weaponisation of aid”, for Israel to end its “bureaucratic obstruction” and for unconditional delivery of life-saving humanitarian aid to Gaza according to the Quds News Network.

Bushra Khalidi, Oxfam policy lead, said her organisation has more than $2.5m worth of humanitarian aid supplies that “have been rejected from entering Gaza by Israel”.

MSF’s emergency coordinator in Gaza, Aitor Zabalgogeazkoa, said the restrictions on aid are part of Israel’s militarised distribution of relief supplies, spearheaded by the controversial US- and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF).

“The militarised food distribution scheme has weaponised starvation and curated suffering. Distributions at GHF sites have resulted in extreme levels of violence and killings, primarily of young Palestinian men, but also of women and children, who have gone to the sites in the hope of receiving food,” Zabalgogeazkoa said.

At least 859 starving Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces and American mercenaries while seeking food near or at GHF distribution sites since May.

Israel’s Diaspora Minister Amichai Chikli, who had a role in the new rules imposed on aid groups, told the AFP news agency that registration of humanitarian groups could be rejected if Israel deems that its activities deny the democratic character of Israel or ” promote delegitimisation campaigns”, such as the movement to boycott Israel over its war on Gaza.

The joint outcry comes as two out of three famine thresholds for food consumption have been breached across most of Gaza, with acute malnutrition levels in Gaza City confirming aid agencies’ repeated warnings, according to the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC).

“Mounting evidence shows that widespread starvation, malnutrition, and disease are driving a rise in hunger-related deaths,” the IPC assessment maintained.

“The worst-case scenario of Famine is currently playing out in the Gaza Strip.”

UNICEF has warned that Gaza faces a grave risk of famine, with one in three people going days without food.

Over 100 humanitarian organizations, including Amnesty International, Doctors Without Borders (MSF), and Oxfam, warned that “mass starvation” is spreading across Gaza, with their colleagues in the enclave wasting away from hunger.

The World Health Organization (WHO) said Gaza City has been the area “worst-hit” by malnutrition in the Gaza Strip, with nearly one in five children under five there now acutely malnourished.

The World Food Programme (WFP) has warned that thousands of Palestinians in Gaza are “on the verge of catastrophic hunger,” with one in three people in the enclave going days without food.

Opinion

How Would You Like to Die?

CrossFireArabia
July 27, 2025

Hilal Elver

As we approach the second anniversary of the horrific and genocidal assault on the civilian population of the Gaza Strip, we are witnessing Israel’s systematic disregard for international law and human rights and its weaponization of humanitarian principles. In any armed conflict, the denial of food and water constitutes a war crime under international criminal law. But the mass starvation in Gaza—which quickly evolved into a man-made famine—is unlike any other crisis in modern times.

In Gaza, not only is access to food and water deliberately obstructed, but humanitarian aid itself has become a tool of warfare—used as leverage and denied as a means of collective punishment. The visibility of this crisis, the abundance of credible evidence of war crimes, the immense suffering of civilians—above all women and children—and the impunity of powerful actors make this both a test case for the erosion of humanitarian norms and a tragic outlier in the history of international law.

The blockade and starvation of Gaza are not new. They have a long history—and a uniquely bleak future compared to other conflict-related famines. Since 2007, Gaza has been under Israeli blockade. During this period, Israel systematically calculated the minimum caloric intake required for survival—creating a so-called “Gaza Diet.”[1]

Entering the war, Israel had detailed knowledge of the population’s basic needs and made a conscious, sustained choice to deny adequate access to food and clean water for over 21 months.

Unlike other conflicts, there is no escape from the devastation in Gaza. The entire territory is a war zone, and all 2.3 million Palestinians are treated as enemies[2]—collectively punished and militarily targeted. Humanitarian convoys wait at border crossings, fully loaded, but are denied entry. Food rots within sight of starving families, often just meters away.

Due to Gaza’s specific circumstances, starvation spread rapidly—from the North to the Center and then to the South. By December 2023, with winter approaching, most homes and residential areas were destroyed. The majority of Gazans were living in tents or the ruins of buildings—without food, water, cooking facilities, heating, or sanitation. Evidence has long shown that catastrophic living conditions, a crumbling healthcare system, and severely inadequate and sporadic humanitarian aid produced mass malnutrition and imminent famine.

Deliberate targeting tactics

Israel has repeatedly denied UN and NGO reports about the use of starvation as a weapon. The US government also ignored clear warnings and overwhelming evidence. For months, most Western governments avoided using the words famine or genocide in relation to Gaza. The UN’s Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC)[3], the authoritative global body on famine assessments, has yet to formally declare a famine in Gaza—despite mounting evidence—due to political pressure from perpetrators. Statements by UN Special Rapporteurs, based on scientific data, and multiple interim rulings by the International Court of Justice [4] warning of the “plausibility of famine” have been disregarded. Instead, Israeli forces have responded with further attacks on aid convoys[5] and on civilians trying to collect sacks of flour.[6] These were not collateral damages; they were targeting tactics.

Day by day, the situation has gone from bad to worse—to catastrophic. On March 2, 2025, during a broken ceasefire, Israel blocked all international humanitarian aid from entering Gaza, allowing only minimal deliveries through a militarized and dehumanizing distribution system it controls. In March 2025, the blockade entered a harsher phase, marked by stricter restrictions and the militarization of aid distribution. After two months without food and water, the United States, alongside private contractors and mercenaries under Israeli military supervision, launched a long-planned entity: the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF)[7].

This new structure replaced over 400 non-militarized UN distribution points with just four distribution centers—located in highly insecure areas. Humanitarian principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality, and independence were completely abandoned. UN agencies and international humanitarian organizations refused to participate in this privatized, militarized, and lethally deceptive system.

Dire results were feared from the outset. More than 1,000 people have died of Israeli army sniper attacks at these sites, and more than 5,000 have been injured. People walk for hours along dangerous, dusty roads, wait under the desert sun, and are given just 11 minutes to collect 25 kilograms[8] of flour before the GHF arbitrarily closes its gates. When they exit, the ordeal often continues. Many are shot—by Israeli forces, private security, or armed groups. Gaza’s civilians are forced to choose between being killed by snipers or dying of hunger. Today, simply following the path of supposed humanitarian aid amounts to a death sentence.

Israel knows no limits in committing war crimes

On July 20, 2025, Israeli tanks and snipers attacked a 25-truck World Food Programme convoy[9] at the Zikim crossing. More than 100 Palestinians waiting for food were killed. It is a demonic inversion of humanitarianism: starvation weaponized, aid turned into bait, and civilians punished for seeking sustenance.

Famine, though still undeclared, is now undeniably present in Gaza. Why does the IPC exist if it cannot act? In recent days alone, over 100 people have died of hunger[10], including infants. Humanitarian workers and medical staff are collapsing from exhaustion and malnutrition. Every day, 10–15 people die from starvation.

Starvation is a silent death. It hides its cruelty. It is a societal torture.[11] People lose the energy to ask for help. Children stop crying. It is also one of the most painful deaths—the body consuming itself. Children suffer first, and if they survive, they are left with lifelong physical and cognitive damage. The effects of the Gaza famine will persist for generations.

Even the death toll has become a political battleground. Israel accuses Gaza’s health authorities of inflating numbers, yet respected research institutions have reported far higher estimates. In July 2024, The Lancet [12] projected over 186,000 deaths—many from indirect causes such as starvation, dehydration, and exposure. Oxfam[13] now reports that in the past 100 days, the daily death rate in Gaza is over 250—higher than in any other 21st-century conflict.

Unless there is an immediate permanent ceasefire or a meaningful intervention by the international community, Gaza will become even more of a monstrous killing field—a real-life version of The Hunger Games. What once seemed like dystopian fiction is now a horrifying reality, unfolding in plain sight.

[1] https://visualizingpalestine.org/visual/the-gaza-diet/
[2] https://www.isdglobal.org/digital_dispatches/no-innocents-the-collective-blame-of-palestinians-online/
[3] https://www.ipcinfo.org
[4] https://www.icj-cij.org/node/203447
[5] https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/11/30/israel-kills-world-central-kitchen-aid-workers-in-gaza
[6] https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2024/03/un-experts-condemn-flour-massacre-urge-israel-end-campaign-starvation-gaza
[7] https://www.972mag.com/gaza-social-collapse-criminal-gangs/
[8] https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2025/jul/22/food-aid-gaza-deaths-visual-story-ghf-israel
[9] https://www.wfp.org/news/gaza-convoy-incident-statement
[10] https://www.ft.com/content/6899af82-1a6f-4ec6-91ba-41e7a5f0012d?utm_source=chatgpt.com
[11] https://cjil.uchicago.edu/print-archive/siege-starvation-war-crime-societal-torture
[12] https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(24)01169-3/fulltext
[13] https://www.oxfam.org/en/press-releases/daily-death-rate-gaza-higher-any-other-major-21st-century-conflict-oxfam

*Opinions expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Anadolu’s editorial policy.

The author is a former UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food (2014-2020) and a member of the High Level Panel of Experts (HLPE) of the UN Committee of World Food Security (CFS).

News

How Britain Funded The Israeli Genocide

CrossFireArabia
July 2, 2025

Britain’s support for Israel’s genocidal conduct in Gaza, through weapons, intelligence sharing, and diplomatic cover, is in the spotlight again after this week’s court ruling on a legal challenge to the UK’s continuing arms exports to Tel Aviv.

Critics, ranging from top human rights groups to legal experts and members of Parliament, say the UK has become complicit in the devastation Israel is inflicting on Gaza, where its forces have killed more than 57,000 Palestinians and wounded over 134,000 since Oct. 7, 2023.

The UK High Court on Monday dismissed a judicial review brought by Palestinian human rights group Al-Haq and London-based Global Legal Action Network (GLAN), supported by Amnesty International UK, Human Rights Watch, and Oxfam.

The case centered on Britain’s decision to exempt F-35 parts when suspending some arms export licenses for Israel last year, citing the UK’s legal obligations under international humanitarian law, including the Geneva Conventions, the Arms Trade Treaty, and the Genocide Convention.

Despite acknowledging these concerns, judges Stephen Males and Karen Steyn ruled that the so-called “F-35 carve-out” policy was lawful and beyond the jurisdiction of the courts. The decision drew widespread condemnation from the rights groups, who have vowed to keep up their efforts to force the British government to halt all arms exports to Israel.

According to a detailed investigation by London-based watchdog Action on Armed Violence (AOAV), the UK has supplied thousands of munitions, continued shipments of components for the F-35 fighter jet used in Israeli airstrikes, and conducted over 570 surveillance flights over Gaza since December 2023.

Arms and material

Britain has continued to arm Israel despite mounting civilian casualties in Gaza. “Since October 2023 there have been at least 14 shipments of military goods from the UK to Israel,” Labour lawmaker Kim Johnson said in Parliament last month.

“Those include over 8,500 munitions, bombs, grenades, missiles, and 146 armored vehicle parts. In October 2023 alone, the UK exported 150,000 bullets.”

In September 2024, under growing pressure, the Labour government announced it was suspending around 30 of 350 active export licenses for Israel, citing a “clear risk” that British-made weapons could be used in serious violations of international humanitarian law.

However, the move fell far short of a full embargo, with AOAV noting that “the vast majority of licenses remained valid.”

Critically, the UK exempted components for the F-35 fighter jet program from suspension. BAE Systems, a key British arms manufacturer, contributes to the jets used in Israeli airstrikes.

AOAV reports that F-35s have played “a critical role in the Israeli bombing campaign,” including an attack in March 2025 that killed more than 400 Palestinians.

While the UK insists that all exports are rigorously assessed, Parliament has heard warnings that Britain cannot ensure its arms are not used in Gaza.

“It is completely conceivable that those weapons have been used to kill and maim children in Gaza,” Labour MP Warinder Juss said in a Parliament session.

Surveillance and intelligence

Starting in December 2023, the Royal Air Force began flying near-daily surveillance missions over Gaza and southern Israel from the RAF Akrotiri base in the Greek Cypriot Administration.

According to AOAV data, Britain has flown over 570 such sorties, with more than 200 under the current Labour government.

The primary aircraft used is the Shadow R1, operated by the RAF’s 14 Squadron, equipped with high-resolution cameras and signals intelligence tools. The RAF also deployed RC-135 Rivet Joint planes to collect electronic intelligence.

The UK government claims these flights are “solely” for hostage rescue purposes. However, AOAV raised serious concerns about how the intelligence is used, warning that “British spy aircraft may have given Israel additional eyes and ears over Gaza’s battlefields.”

Britain’s membership in the Five Eyes intelligence alliance complicates matters further. As AOAV explains, the UK has long held responsibility for Middle East monitoring within the alliance, and signals intelligence shared with the US may have ultimately supported Israeli military operations.

Legal challenges and ethical concerns

Despite the September 2024 suspension of some export licenses, arms shipments from the UK to Israel appear to have continued. Human rights groups have sharply criticized what AOAV calls a “blind alliance.”

In early June, former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn called for an independent public inquiry into the UK’s involvement in Israeli military operations in Gaza, urging the government to end arms sales to Israel and accusing ministers of complicity in what he described as “mass murder.”

Most recently, on June 30, the UK High Court dismissed the judicial review brought by Al-Haq and GLAN, saying that decisions on whether to continue UK’s involvement in the F-35 program were for the government and Parliament according to Anadolu.

News

Israel’s Aid Blockage…Collective Punishment

CrossFireArabia
March 4, 2025

Israel’s decision to block aid to over two million Palestinians in the Gaza Strip as Ramadan begins is a reckless act of collective punishment, explicitly prohibited under international humanitarian law and as Oxfam stated.

Humanitarian aid is not a bargaining chip for applying pressure on parties, but a fundamental right of civilians experiencing urgent need in challenging and life-threatening circumstances.

When our teams assessed the conditions in Gaza in the wake of the January 19th announcement of a temporary ceasefire, they encountered apocalyptic scenes of complete destruction and famine-like conditions.

People in Gaza need everything: lifesaving water, food, sanitation and other necessities, as well as equipment critical for the restoration of water and electricity. The goods that were able to enter during the weeks of ceasefire have brought some relief, but remain a drop in the ocean.

The international community must apply immediate pressure on Israel to ensure vital aid urgently gets into Gaza. The International Court of Justice has ordered Israel to ensure aid deliveries at scale throughout Gaza.

Reliefweb

News

UK NGOs: ‘North Gaza is Being Wiped Out’

CrossFireArabia
October 11, 2024

Over a dozen British NGOs accused the UK government of “failing to stand up for international law” after Israeli forces launched a renewed aerial and ground assault in northern Gaza, laying siege to residential areas and leaving 400,000 civilians trapped there.

In a strongly worded statement, the NGOs, which include major aid organizations such as Oxfam, Islamic Relief UK and Medical Aid for Palestinians, said on Tuesday that Gaza “is being erased before our eyes”.

“The government must demand that Israel end its heinous attacks, and take action to oppose any annexation or shrinking of Gaza,” they said.

“Its current silence is tantamount to complicity.”

Gaza “is being erased before our eyes”.

British NGOs have accused the UK government of “failing to stand up for international law” after Israeli forces launched a renewed aerial and ground assault in northern Gaza, leaving 400,000 civilians trapped there.https://t.co/xV42NXiobj
— GoGrrrl (@juliewebbp) October 11, 2024

The NGOs call specifically on the UK government to publicly oppose Israel’s forcible transfer of Palestinians and the annexation of northern Gaza and to suspend all arms transfers to Israel.

They also said the government should take “bold and concrete steps” to ensure that Israel complies with the International Court of Justice’s orders to prevent genocide and to implement the court’s advisory opinion not to aid Israel’s unlawful occupation of Palestinian territory.

“We reiterate our calls on the UK to end its potential or actual complicity in violations of international law,” they wrote.

“Northern Gaza is being wiped out”

On Sunday, the Israeli military said its forces had “successfully” encircled the Jabalia refugee camp and were operating in the area, after forcing residents to leave again during its third ground assault on the densely populated camp in northern Gaza since launching the war a year ago.

The last operation took place in May, displacing tens of thousands of people, killing hundreds, and causing widespread destruction.

The Israeli army has called on Palestinians in northern Gaza to flee to designated “safe zones” in southern and central Gaza as it begins a renewed ground offensive. But no place in Gaza is safe for Palestinians, including the so-called “safe zones”.

But as some Palestinians begin making the journey southwards, Gaza’s Interior Ministry has called on residents to ignore Israel’s evacuation orders.

“Israeli claims about the presence of safe zones in southern Gaza are lies as Israel commits crimes and massacres in all areas of the enclave,” the ministry said in a statement.

“We call on citizens in northern Gaza to ignore Israeli threats.”

Israeli forces have imposed a full siege on the Jabalia camp and surrounding neighborhoods such as Tal Al-Za’atar, Al-Sikka, Beit Hanoun, and Beit Lahia. Tanks and drone aircraft have blocked critical roads, including the junction leading to Al-Halabi Square in Jabalia, isolating residents who are already enduring relentless airstrikes and artillery fire. Several families are reportedly trapped under the rubble as rescue teams cannot reach them.

According to the UN, at least 400,000 Palestinians are trapped in northern Gaza. Palestinians attempting to flee the camp have also been shot at, according to residents and footage shared on social media.

Meanwhile, residents took to social media with frantic posts warning that “Northern Gaza is being wiped out.”

The “general’s plan”

The renewed assault comes amid fears that the military is implementing a plan conceived by retired Major-General Giora Eiland to empty northern Gaza of its 400,000 residents to make way for a “closed military zone”.

“The general’s plan,” which was launched in an Israeli TV campaign, calls for the ethnic cleansing of northern Gaza, warning that those that remain will face starvation.

“The right thing to do is to inform the approximately 300,000 residents who remained in the northern Gaza Strip… we are ordering you to leave,” Eiland said last month.

“In a week, the entire territory of the northern Gaza Strip will become military territory.”

Israel’s public broadcaster Kann reported that the renewed incursion on Jabalia could signal the implementation of the plan.

“The entire northern area of the Gaza Strip will be cleansed according to the generals’ plan – the entire population will be evacuated…and the entire northern area of the Gaza Strip will be declared a closed military area,” the network reported on Saturday.

In recent weeks, the plan was reportedly being considered by Israel’s government, with Reuters reporting that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had said it “makes sense”.

On Tuesday, Israeli forces issued expulsion orders for three main hospitals in northern Gaza – Kamal Adwan, al-Awda and the Indonesian hospital, giving them just 24 hours to flee.

The army threatened that if they didn’t leave, they would face “the same fate as al-Shifa hospital, with destruction, killing and arrest”, according to a statement by the Ministry of Health in Gaza according to the Quds News Network.