By Burak Bir
LONDON (AA) - Britain's minister for the Middle East said Tuesday humanitarian aid airdrops are “clearly not enough” to meet Palestinians' needs in Gaza, which is on the "brink of famine."
"Evidence of that is very clear,” Tariq Ahmad said at the Foreign Affairs Select Committee oral evidence session as part of its inquiry into the UK’s engagement with the Middle East and North Africa.
Asked whether the UK government accepts that there is a famine in the Gaza Strip, Ahmad said that Gaza is on the "brink of famine."
He said that people in Gaza are dying because of a lack of medicine, support and basic amenities which needed to be supplied.
"We shouldn't wait for famine to occur, we need to act on that now," he added.
Responding to the question on the opinion of the UK government about the reason behind the famine in Gaza, the minister said that it is “very much because of the restrictions” which are imposed on aid getting in through the borders.
When asked whether he believes that Israel is using starvation as a weapon of war, Ahmad said that they constantly review the way Israel is “prosecuting this war.”
"I think Israel needs to recognize that the situation in Gaza, they as the occupying power under the Geneva Conventions, have direct responsibilities,” he added.
Asked again whether the British government believes that Israel is using starvation as a weapon of war, Ahmad said: “It's not the judgment the UK Government has drawn."
"But what we have said very clearly is that we're on the brink of famine in Gaza."
Ahmad went on to say that they continue to press Israel on the issue of the reopening of the Erez crossing.
More than 35,100 Palestinians have since been killed in Gaza, mostly women and children, and 78,400 others injured, according to Palestinian health authorities.
Over seven months into the Israeli war, vast swathes of Gaza lay in ruins, pushing 85% of the enclave’s population into internal displacement amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water, and medicine, according to the UN.
Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice. An interim ruling in January said it is "plausible" that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza and ordered Tel Aviv to stop such acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.