Children will die quickly amid ‘genocidal starvation’ in Gaza, warns top famine expert
A renowned expert on famine, Professor Alex de Waal, has accused Israel of “genocidal starvation” of Palestinians in Gaza with its continued deadly siege on the enclave.
At least 101 Palestinians, including 80 children, have died of starvation since Israel’s blockade resumed in March, including 15 who died of malnutrition on Monday, according to the Palestinian health ministry.
Meanwhile, more than 1,000 Palestinians have been killed while seeking aid at distribution sites run by the controversial Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, in place since May and manned by Israeli soldiers and US security contractors.
De Waal told MEE’s live show on Tuesday that the UN is not in a position to declare famine due to Israel’s obstruction of access to humanitarians and investigators to gauge the extent of hunger.
However, he said, “it is actually relatively straightforward if you are perpetrating a famine to shut out access to essential information and then say no one has declared famine”.
“Concealment of famine is an instrument of those who perpetrate it,” he added.
