March 9, 2024 (EIRNS)—UN Special Rapporteur for the Right To Food Michael Fakhri blasted Israel’s campaign of starvation against the Palestinians in Geneva yesterday saying that “there is no doubt that this is genocide.”
“We see a campaign of starvation that started from the beginning of the war and continues to unfold today,” Fakhri told Turkey’s Anadolu Agency on Feb. 7. He added that “There is no doubt that this is genocide and that this is a campaign and intentional campaign of starvation by Israel against the Palestinian people in Gaza.”
“When the war broke out, we saw people go hungry in unprecedented ways. We have never seen any community made to go hungry so quickly. Now what we are seeing is famine. Children are dying from malnutrition, and dehydration,” Fakhri stated. “We have never seen children pushed into malnutrition so quickly in any conflict in modern history,” he added. “We see children dying from malnutrition, and dehydration, this is a stage of horror.” He said at this point the speed of death will increase significantly, adding “I cannot imagine a more horrific situation.”
Regarding the recent airdrops of aid by countries to Gaza, Fakhri said, “It is clear … that aid airdrops are very expensive, and not very effective.”
“In fact, sometimes airdrops can cause a lot of chaos and problems as the food is scattered everywhere, with no systemic way of distributing the food,” the UN expert added.
He said countries like the United States and other countries that are providing these airdrops should instead “focus on ensuring an immediate ceasefire by putting pressure on Israel to allow humanitarian aid to enter unfettered and to ensure a permanent ceasefire.”
“This is like putting a band-aid on someone who is almost dying. It has very little immediate and long-term impact,” he further said.
