UN expert urges Israel to end ‘starvation campaign’ in Gaza

GENEVA — A United Nations (UN) expert has condemned Israel’s “destruction” of the food system in Gaza and urged an end to the “starvation campaign” there.

At a meeting of the 55th session of the UN Human Rights Council on Thursday, UN Special Rapporteur on the right to food Michael Fakhri said that nearly 75 per cent of Gaza’s fishing sector had been devastated by Israeli bombardment, Xinhua news agency reported.

“Israel has mounted a starvation campaign against the Palestinian people in Gaza … by targeting small-scale fishers,” the independent rights expert said.

Since October 7, 2023, Israel has denied all access to the sea, he said.

“Israeli forces decimated the Port of Gaza, destroying every single fishing boat and shack,” he said. “In Rafah, only two out of 40 boats are left. In Khan Younis, Israel destroyed approximately 75 small-scale fishing vessels.”

The destruction of fishing livelihoods in the enclave had undermined the right to food for people in Gaza and pushed them into hunger and starvation, Fakhri said.

On Tuesday, UN experts condemned the violence of Israeli troops that fired on crowds of Palestinians gathered to collect flour in the southwest of Gaza on February 29. At least 112 people died and some 760 were injured, according to a UN press release.