By Muhammet Ikbal Arslan
GENEVA (AA) - Israel’s decision to completely halt all aid into Gaza is "unacceptable and goes against its international law obligations,” the UN Human Rights Office said Monday.
"It is already having negative impacts on the ground, with the prices of basic goods spiking and anxiety as to future access to lifesaving essentials spreading in Gaza," UN human rights spokesperson Thameen Al-Kheetan told Anadolu.
He said the humanitarian community must be allowed to deliver vital lifesaving aid into and within Gaza without hindrance.
"Denial of the entry of the necessities of life intended to pressure a party in armed conflict through hardship imposed on the civilian population as a whole raises serious concerns of collective punishment," he said.
"We must not see a return to hunger and starvation."
- Uncertainty over next phase of ceasefire
Last week, Israel stopped humanitarian aid from entering Gaza, prompting warnings from local and human rights groups of a return to widespread hunger for the Palestinian population.
The first phase of the ceasefire deal, which lasted 42 days, ended in early March without Israel agreeing to move to the second phase or halt the war.
Appeasing hardliners in his government, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu seeks to extend the first phase of the prisoner exchange to secure the release of more Israeli captives without fulfilling military or humanitarian obligations outlined in the agreement.
Hamas rejects this approach and insists that Israel abide by the ceasefire terms, urging mediators to push for immediate negotiations on the second phase, which calls for a full Israeli withdrawal and an end to the war.
Israel has killed more than 48,000 people, mostly women and children, in Gaza since the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attacks and left the enclave in ruins. The ceasefire took effect on Jan. 19.
Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for 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.