The Weapon of Starvation in the Gaza Strip as a War Crime: Between International Humanitarian Law and Its Humanitarian Repercussions

Introduction

The Gaza Strip is suffering from an escalating, multidimensional humanitarian crisis with far-reaching repercussions, as a result of the starvation policies used by the Israeli occupation forces against the Strip since October 7, 2023, whereby Israel uses hunger and starvation as one of the tools and methods of war. From the first day of the war, it announced the imposition of a total and complete siege on the Strip, cut off water and electricity supplies, closed the border crossings, and considered the Gaza Strip a hostile entity — and this crime occurs despite the fact that the rules of international humanitarian law, and numerous international treaties, conventions, and protocols, prohibit the use of hunger as a weapon in wars.

In turn, most of the Strip's residents have come to suffer from food insecurity and malnutrition, a decline in the level of health and medical services, and the absence of means of life due to the continuous cutoff of water, drinking water, energy, electricity, and cooking gas supplies, which has forced many families to use primitive means to cook food.

In this paper we will shed light on the Israeli starvation policy toward the Gaza Strip from the perspective of international humanitarian law, and the humanitarian and life repercussions that have resulted from this policy on Palestinian society in general, and vulnerable groups in particular.

Prepared by Dr. Mansour Abu Kareem