400,000 Palestinians threatened with starvation in northern Gaza: Rights group

By Mohammad Majid

GAZA CITY, Palestine (AA) - A rights group on Monday reported that around 400,000 Palestinians in the northern Gaza Strip are facing the threat of death from starvation amid the ongoing Israeli siege and ground incursion, now in its 10th day.

In a statement, the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor (Euro-Med) said as a result of an Israeli decision to ban entry of humanitarian aid into northern Gaza for the past several weeks, "more than 400,000 Palestinians in northern Wadi Gaza could be starved to death."

The group said that 200,000 Palestinians in the northern Gaza governorate "have been without food or drinking water for 10 full days now".

The rights group noted that the Israeli army's massive attack on northern Gaza for the 10th consecutive day comes "in an effort to evacuate the region (northern Gaza) of its inhabitants."

It added that "many victims and injured people are still stuck in the streets or homes, as they cannot be transported to hospitals," under the Israeli ban of ambulances to move in Jabalia.

"Israel’s use of starvation as a lethal weapon and its imposition of living conditions that are meant to truly destroy the Palestinian population illustrate its blatant intent to continue carrying out the genocide," Euro-Med said.

For the 10th consecutive day, the Israeli army has been continuing its deadly ground incursion into northern Gaza Strip, killing over 340 people, according to Gaza local authorities.

Israel has continued a brutal offensive on Gaza following a cross-border attack by the Palestinian group Hamas on Oct. 7 last year, despite a UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate cease-fire.

Nearly 42,300 people have since been killed, mostly women and children, and over 98,600 injured, according to local health authorities.

The Israeli onslaught has displaced almost the entire population of the Gaza Strip amid an ongoing blockade that has led to severe shortages of food, clean water, and medicine.

Mediation efforts led by the US, Egypt, and Qatar to reach a Gaza cease-fire and prisoner swap agreement between Israel and Hamas have failed over Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s refusal to halt the war.

Israel faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its actions in Gaza.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar