Israel uses humanitarian aid blockade on Gaza as weapon to starve people: Legal experts

ISTANBUL

Israel’s obstruction of humanitarian aid to Gaza has deepened global concern, with legal experts warning the use of starvation as a weapon may amount to war crimes and genocide under international law.

The UN World Food Programme (WFP) said this week that food stocks in Gaza have been fully depleted due to Israel’s blockade. Legal analysts say this aligns with patterns of intentional deprivation and is a clear violation of humanitarian law.

Since Oct. 7, 2023, Israel’s military campaign has killed 52,418 people and injured 118,091 others in the Gaza Strip. The offensive -- now in its 18th month -- has destroyed homes, infrastructure, and essential services across the enclave, where more than 2.4 million people now face extreme hunger.

Criminal defense lawyer Atik Malik, director of UK-based Liberty Law Solicitors, told Anadolu that deliberate deprivation of necessities such as food, water, and medicine is a prosecutable war crime under the Rome Statute.

“Under Article Eight of the Statute of Rome, as well as various other humanitarian laws, any intentional deprivation of civilians of essential items is potentially a war crime, and that's particularly where the stopping is deliberate,” he said.

Malik said official Israeli statements and the total aid blockade point to intent: “It is very clear; it is a deliberate act. They're using it as a weapon against civilians, which is potentially a war crime.”

He noted that military commanders, political leaders, and policymakers could be held individually responsible by the International Criminal Court for acts committed in Palestinian territories.

“There are arguments in the UK that there are people in our government who are supporting this genocide. I can tell you, in due course, do not be surprised if politicians are arrested and prosecuted for their involvement.”

Malik explained that genocide requires a specific intent to destroy a national, ethnic, racial, or religious group. He said starvation alone is not genocide, but if used as part of that intent, it “equals genocide.”

He cited evidence, including satellite imagery, statements, and testimonies, as sufficient for a formal ICC investigation. Although Israel is not a party to the court, Palestine’s 2015 accession gives the ICC jurisdiction over Gaza.

Legal concerns over ICC inaction

Gulden Sonmez, a lawyer who represented victims of Israel’s 2010 raid on the Turkish Mavi Marmara aid flotilla, said denying food and water to a civilian population fits the legal definition of genocide under Article 6 of the Rome Statute.

The Mavi Marmara, carrying aid to Gaza, was stormed in international waters by Israeli forces who killed 10 activists and injured dozens more.

Sonmez said that while war crime trials became established after World War II, the use of starvation as a method of warfare has rarely triggered prosecution.

"Perhaps this time, the global outcry -- from the US to the far corners of Africa and across Asia -- against Israel’s openly committed war crimes may help strengthen international legal mechanisms," she said. "It could even pave the way for the establishment of new mechanisms, and perhaps, going forward, deterrence through punishment might become possible."

She warned that failure to hold Israeli officials accountable risks long-term damage to the international justice system and future civilian protections.

Sonmez added that while international law includes strong provisions for deterrence and punishment, geopolitical power dynamics and UN gridlock have hindered accountability.

She said the ICC can legally investigate Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and others in Israel’s chain of command.

"We are all distressed -- whether as legal professionals, as civilians around the world, as NGOs, or even as some parliaments -- by the ICC’s failure to exercise its authority in this way," she said.

Sonmez cited substantial evidence already collected --including Anadolu’s Evidence documentary and witness accounts from journalists in Gaza -- which could justify formal legal proceedings.