Palestinians accuse Israel of using starvation as weapon against Gaza children

Palestinian authorities on Tuesday accused Israel of using starvation as a weapon against civilians and children in the Gaza Strip.

"More than a quarter of a million aid trucks were prevented by the Israeli army since the start of its genocidal war in October 2023," Gaza's government media office said in a statement.

"The occupation army continues to reinforce the starvation policy, especially in northern Gaza," it added.

The media office said Israel has shut the Rafah crossing, a vital route for aid deliveries into Gaza from Egypt, for 169 days and tightened its suffocating blockade on the enclave.

"Preventing the entry of aid trucks is part of Israel's policy of using starvation as a weapon of war against civilians, especially children by denying them food, baby milk, and nutritional supplements," it said.

"This is a crime against humanity," the media office said, denouncing international silence to "this brutal crime being committed against Palestinians in Gaza."

The Israeli army stepped up its massive assault in northern Gaza amid a suffocating siege that has left tens of thousands of people without food and water.

More than 600 people have been killed and thousands injured since the onslaught began on Oct. 5, according to Palestinian health authorities.

The onslaught was the latest episode in Israel's brutal onslaught that has killed more than 42,700 people, mostly women and children, and injured nearly 100,300 others since last year following a Hamas attack.

The Israeli war on Gaza has displaced almost the territory's entire population amid an ongoing blockade that has led to severe shortages of food, clean water, and medicine.

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