The weapon of starvation: Failed Israeli collective punishments

Human Rights Watch (HRW) has made clear and frank accusations that Israel is using starvation as a method of warfare in the Gaza Strip. It said in a report issued on Monday that “Israeli forces are deliberately blocking the delivery of water, food, and fuel, while wilfully impeding humanitarian assistance, apparently razing agricultural areas, and depriving the civilian population of objects indispensable to their survival.” In addition, the Israeli organisation B’Tselem also spoke about the Israeli war crimes that continue in the Gaza Strip, and said in a report that Israel “closed all the crossings in and out of Gaza at the beginning of the war. More than two million residents were left without fuel, electricity, drinking and bathing water, food and medication.” It also mentioned that “UN agencies are also reporting an extreme shortage of food to the point of famine, especially in northern Gaza.” All the information received from the Gaza Strip and repeated press reports indicate that the volume of food supplies entering through the Rafah crossing are hardly enough, no more than ten per cent of the population’s needs, who need more than 1,000 trucks of food and humanitarian supplies daily, while only dozens enter.

From the first day of the war, Israel used a policy of collective punishment against all residents of the Gaza Strip. It considered them responsible for the Hamas attack and saw them as the base for Hamas. The Israeli media used pictures of some citizens who expressed their joy over the operation and the Israeli defeat, and a small number of them participated in attacks on the Israelis in and around the Gaza Strip. Israeli leaders believe that by targeting civilians indiscriminately, adopting a policy of genocide and starving citizens, they will put pressure on Hamas and achieve the annihilation of the popular consciousness that supports resistance. However, Israel, along with the majority of its political and military elite, did not learn from the experience of the Gaza siege, which lasted for more than 16 years. The humanitarian situation does not put pressure on the Hamas movement, which believes that the responsibility for meeting the needs of citizens lies with the PA and the international community, which must be concerned with providing humanitarian aid to Gaza.

Israel is now in a very difficult situation in terms of the position of international public opinion, which has put great pressure on all governments, especially in Western countries, regarding a ceasefire and an end to the destructive and barbaric war that Israel is waging relentlessly and indiscriminately in Gaza. Even countries that are very supportive of Israel, such as the UK and Germany, are now speaking openly and strongly about the need for a sustainable ceasefire, and immediately starting a political process to achieve the two-state solution as the only way to end the conflict. This was stated in a statement issued by the UK and German foreign ministers several days ago. Moreover, similar statements were issued by many international bodies, including Canada, Australia and New Zealand, which are known for their support for Israel. Josep Borrell, High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, spoke three days ago about “an appalling lack of distinction in Israel’s military operation in Gaza” and renewed his call for an urgent humanitarian truce. The Israeli media talks about the “bias” of social media in favour of the Palestinians and against Israel, as most of its posts adopt the Palestinian narrative and denounce Israel. Even widely circulated international newspapers publish at least three articles in favour of the Palestinians for every article that tells or promotes the Israeli position.

READ: Israel pushing Gaza towards famine, rights group warns

Everything that Israel is doing these days is against it. It is failing in eliminating the infrastructure of the Palestinian factions in Gaza and is suffering great losses. It will need a very long time to completely control every area of the Gaza Strip and to reach the leadership of Hamas there, if it can. There are those who doubt Israel’s ability to do so. Moreover, the time factor has also started to put enormous pressure on the operations of the occupying army. The repeated and continuous visits of American envoys in an unprecedented manner indicate that there is a problem with Israel continuing its war at the current pace. The US can no longer bear these catastrophic results for a long time, and it wants Israel to move to a new phase of its war in which it relies on “surgical operations,” i.e., bombing very specific targets related to Hamas leaders and not civilian targets, to avoid killing large numbers of civilians. The other thing that President Biden’s administration and all international organisations are focusing on is adequate delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza. In this context, Washington pressed for opening the Karm Abu Salem crossing, which accommodates a large number of trucks daily, and work has already begun in this regard.

Israel does not have much time before it must reach at least a ceasefire to free the Israeli prisoners of war in the Gaza Strip. This is what it is trying to procrastinate until it ends its war in the city of Khan Yunis, which it says is the stronghold of the Hamas leadership. It is not clear whether it will achieve tangible success or whether it will completely destroy the area, like it did with most other areas in the Gaza Strip. In any case, Israel did not abandon the idea and goal of displacing the Palestinians by turning the Gaza Strip into an uninhabitable place, but it seems that this goal is difficult to achieve.

This article first appeared in Arabic in Al-Ayyam on 20 December 2023

The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Monitor.