Starvation Fears Rise in Gaza as Israeli Blockade Enters 6th Day
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – It has been six days since all aid supplies were blocked from entering war-battered Gaza by the Israeli army with aid officials saying hundreds of millions of dollars earmarked for the Palestinian territory have been halted by the US government.
Abdel-Latif al-Qanou, a spokesman for Hamas, said Israel is pursuing “a policy of starvation and collective punishment” in Gaza by keeping land crossings closed and preventing the entry of crucial aid.
The six-day siege is a “flagrant violation of international and humanitarian laws and a war crime that the world must stop and hold its perpetrators accountable”, he said, Al Jazeera reported.
“We renew our call to the international community, all human rights and humanitarian institutions, and all free people of the world to force the Zionist occupation to open the crossings, bring in relief and medical aid, and end the suffering of our people,” he added.
With the Gaza ceasefire in turmoil, Hamas’s military spokesman said “the resistance remains at the highest level of readiness for all possibilities”.
Gaza’s Health Ministry has confirmed 48,440 Palestinian deaths in Israel’s war on Gaza while 111,845 people have been wounded. The Government Media Office updated its death toll to at least 61,709, saying thousands of Palestinians missing under the rubble are presumed dead.
