LONDON 

UK-based charity Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP) on Tuesday called on states to publicly and unequivocally reject Israel’s militarization of aid, and make clear their support for humanitarian groups who refuse to comply with systems that violate international law.

"The international community must see this plan for what it plainly is: another tool of oppression and violence in the context of what international human rights groups have concluded is a campaign of genocide against Palestinians," Stephen Cutts, the interim CEO of MAP, said in a statement.

Calling it "the total inversion of humanitarianism," Cutts warned that if allowed to continue unchallenged, it will have dire consequences not only for Gaza's population, but for humanitarian action over the world.

Citing previous statements by the British government against Israeli blockading humanitarian assistance to Gaza, the group said "with no meaningful action" to accompany these statements, Israel has instead halted all humanitarian aid from entering Gaza for 65 days.

"The failure of the international community, including the UK, to end the chronic impunity afforded to Israel for its ongoing atrocities, including systematic attacks on health infrastructure and personnel, and the use of starvation as a weapon of war, has brought us to the brink of institutionalising a humanitarian dystopia."

Stressing that the UK "must not be an ally to these atrocities," the group called on states to publicly and unequivocally reject "Israel’s militarisation of aid," and make clear their support for humanitarian groups who refuse to comply with systems that violate international law.

On Sunday, Israel’s Security Cabinet approved a plan to expand its ongoing war on Gaza and occupy territory inside the Palestinian enclave.

Nearly 2.4 million people in Gaza live completely dependent on humanitarian aid, according to World Bank data.

Since March 2, Israel has kept Gaza’s crossings closed to food, medical, and humanitarian aid, deepening an already humanitarian crisis in the enclave, according to government, human rights, and international reports.

Figures released by Gaza’s government media office showed that at least 57 Palestinians have died of starvation since October 2023.

More than 52,600 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza in a brutal Israeli onslaught since October 2023, most of them women and children.

The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants in November 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.

The new Israeli plan is said to involve international organizations and private security contractors to hand out boxes of food to individual families in Gaza.