RAMALLAH, Palestine / ANKARA
Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa declared the Gaza Strip a “famine-stricken zone” on Wednesday, as Israel continued to block the entry of food and aid into the blockaded enclave.
"We declare Gaza a famine-stricken area," Mustafa told a press conference in the West Bank city of Ramallah.
"We demand all UN member states take urgent action according to their obligations under international humanitarian law, and recognize this disaster and famine," he said.
The Palestinian premier called on the international community to "implement UN resolutions that prohibit using starvation as a weapon of war."
Mustafa also appealed to the entire UN system to "immediately activate its mechanisms and treat Gaza as a famine zone."
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.
Nearly 2.4 million people in Gaza live completely dependent on humanitarian aid, according to World Bank data.
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.