US lawmaker says Israel uses starvation as 'weapon of war' in Gaza
'This is not a game. These are human beings,' Rashida Tlaib says
WASHINGTON
US Rep. Rashida Tlaib said Thursday that Israel uses starvation as a "weapon of war" in the Gaza Strip, calling on her colleagues to stop supporting genocide.
"The Israeli government has deliberately blocked food, medicine and fuel from entering Gaza.
"The entire population of Gaza is experiencing famine, and half a million Palestinians are facing catastrophic levels of starvation," Tlaib said on the House floor.
Tlaib said at least 66 Palestinian children have already been starved to death.
"Maybe, if my colleagues would close their eyes or pretend that they're not Palestinians ... that they would care that Palestinians have been forced to eat grass ... animal feed, while thousands of trucks carrying food sit blocked at the border.
"The Israeli government is using starvation as a weapon of war," she added.
Tlaib further accused Israeli forces of shooting starving Palestinians as they lined up for aid, resulting in 875 killed in six weeks alone, and criticized Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) backed by both Israel and the Trump administration.
Launched in the besieged Strip on May 27, the aid distribution sites of the US- and Israeli-backed GHF have been described as “death traps” by critics.
"The United Nations calls it a death trap. The Israeli soldiers have even admitted it themselves that they were ordered to deliberately shoot unarmed Palestinians, many of them children," she said.
"This is not a game. These are human beings … we would stop this madness and stop supporting the genocide in Gaza," Tlaib added.
The Israeli army, rejecting international calls for a ceasefire, has pursued a brutal offensive against Gaza since October 2023, killing nearly 58,600 Palestinians, most of them women and children.
Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.
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