Palestinian Foreign Minister: One Million Gazans Are Starving Because of Israel

Gazans fled from north to south. (Source: UNRWA/Ashraf Amra)

JAKARTA - The Palestinian Foreign Minister accused Israel of deliberately weaponizing starvation against the residents of the Gaza Strip, a charge denied by Tel Aviv, while the UN Human Rights Chief assessed the enclave as on the verge of collapse.

The UN's World Food Program (WFP) says half of Gaza's 2.3 million residents are suffering from famine, as Israel's decision to carry out a ground operation into the southern region of the Gaza Strip, makes it increasingly difficult for people to get food, medicine and fuel.

"Today, at least 1 million Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, half of them children, are starving, not because of natural disasters or because of the lack of aid waiting at the border," Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki told AFP at an event 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, reported by Reuters, December 13.

"No, they are starving because Israel deliberately uses hunger as a weapon of war against the population it occupies," he continued.

In response, an Israeli official told Reuters in Jerusalem: "This is, of course, indecent. The accusations are defamatory and fanciful."

Israel is pushing to increase food deliveries to Gaza from Egypt, which also borders the Palestinian enclave, the official said, blaming the slowness for the gridlock.

Meanwhile, a government official said the Kerem Shalom crossing into Gaza from Israel reopened for inspections on Tuesday, and the government had increased its aid inspection capacity.

"We live in a dystopian reality that excludes Palestinians from the most basic basic rights granted to all humanity," al-Maliki said.

He described this as an "international failure" in protecting Palestinians.

Separately, when asked whether he agreed with al-Maliki's assessment, UN High Commissioner Volker Turk described the situation in Gaza as "on the verge of collapse".

"This is a clarion call for all people and international institutions dealing with this issue, to take this issue very seriously and take action," he said.

It is known that the death toll of Palestinians due to the ongoing Israeli offensive in the Gaza Strip has risen to 18,412, the Ministry of Health in the enclave said on Tuesday.

Ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qudra said another 50,100 people were injured in the Israeli onslaught.

"Around 326,000 cases of infectious diseases were detected by health teams in various holding centers," al-Qudra said at a press conference, reported by Anadolu, December 13.

Meanwhile, the Israeli death toll in Hamas attacks reached 1,200 people, according to official figures.