• Argues suffering and death caused by policy of starvation in Gaza 'don't advance any of the war's objectives'

JERUSALEM / ANKARA 

Israeli newspaper Haaretz condemned on Friday Israel’s policy of starving Palestinians in Gaza, saying it has "become an openly declared policy and even a source of pride" in recent months.

In an editorial titled “Israel must stop starving Gaza,” the newspaper said that "under the auspices of Israel's nightmare government and the Trump administration – Israel's starvation of more than two million Palestinians has been fully normalized."

“This policy is based on a populist and false narrative that links humanitarian aid for Gazans to Hamas' military capabilities. The result is a continuing humanitarian crime,” said the newspaper of record.

The Israeli daily noted that “for more than six weeks, no shipments of food, medicine, tents or any other form of aid have entered the Strip,” stressing that “it's not Hamas members who are paying the price, but rather hundreds of thousands of children, mothers, the elderly and the poor.”

It cited a survey conducted by humanitarian agencies in Gaza stating that “3,696 children were hospitalized in March alone due to severe malnutrition.”

"The UN World Food Programme has been forced to shut down all the bakeries it ran throughout the Strip, and most residents now rely on a single daily meal provided by UN-run kitchens. Most of Gaza's population has no access to fresh food, including meat, dairy products, eggs, vegetables or fruit," the editorial read.

The newspaper said that the "severe" hunger crisis is compounded by a "lack of clean water, widespread tent-dwelling, the collapse of sewage and waste collection systems, the destruction of the healthcare system and more."

Policy of starvation does not advance war's objectives

Haaretz argued that the suffering and death caused by Israel's policy of starvation in Gaza "don't advance any of the war's objectives" and the deaths of children due to malnutrition and disease "won't lead to the release of the hostages or the downfall of Hamas."

It called on Israel to "immediately resume the flow of aid into the Strip, and all nations worldwide must pressure Israel in every way possible to compel it to do so.”

More than 51,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children, have been killed in Gaza in a brutal Israeli onslaught since October 2023.

The International Criminal Court has issued arrest warrants for 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.