ISTANBUL

European Commissioner for Equality, Preparedness, and Crisis Management Hadja Lahbib on Thursday warned that Gaza’s hunger crisis has reached “catastrophic levels,” calling for an immediate and permanent ceasefire to end what she described as a “man-made famine.”

“This man-made famine must end,” Lahbib said on X.

“More & more people are facing starvation," she added.

She stressed the urgent need for unrestricted humanitarian access to the besieged Palestinian enclave, calling for the reopening of all border crossings and the lifting of Israeli restrictions.

“A permanent ceasefire is urgently needed,” she said, adding that “all crossings must be opened, Israeli restrictions lifted, and a UN-led humanitarian response restored now.”

Israel has killed more than 59,500 Palestinians, most of them women and children, in the Gaza Strip since October 2023. The military campaign has devastated the enclave, collapsed the health system, and led to severe food shortages.

Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for 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.