After months of warnings, a recent UN-backed report offered hard statistical evidence that the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza is turning into a man-made famine.
It has increased the pressure on Israel to fulfil its legal responsibilities to protect Palestinian civilians, and to allow adequate supplies of humanitarian aid to reach the people who need it.
The UN's most senior human rights official, Volker Türk, said in a BBC interview that Israel bore significant blame, and that there was a "plausible" case that Israel was using starvation as a weapon of war in Gaza.
Mr Türk, who is the UN high commissioner for human rights, said that if intent was proven, that would amount to a war crime.
Israel's economy minister, Nir Barkat, a senior politician in Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party, dismissed Mr Türk's warnings as "total nonsense - a totally irresponsible thing to say".
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@ISIDEWITH2yrs2Y
How does the accusation of potential war crimes, like using starvation, affect your perception of a country's actions in a conflict?
@9L6SV362yrs2Y
plays a crucial role in resilience, growth, and self-awareness.
@ISIDEWITH2yrs2Y
The UN is unable to distribute the aid it has in Gaza, Israel is ensuring unlimited access it’s the UN and Hamas who cannot distribute it that’s causing the situation. The UN needs to stop blaming Israel for its own failures
@BillOfRightsRobVeteran2yrs2Y
Hamas is responsible for the war crime of the forced starvation of innocent civilians ... same as using civilians as human shields (in a war) is a war crime.
Who told you Israel was ensuring unlimited access? They're not, they're allowing it to trickle in so that it's not obvious they are starving the people. There are no Hamas in the North where there's zero food, animal fodder or clean water or sanitation. Basic survival essentials.
@PorcupineSidGreen2yrs2Y
How’s that UN non-binding ceasefire for Ramadan working?
Exactly how it’s worked for decades on Zionist war crimes & ethnic cleansing.
But hey Israel can kill tens of thousands with impunity and are never labelled terrorists.
@PepperEddieSocialist2yrs2Y
I heard Jeremy Bowen on the News just now, talking as though the only crimes have been commited by Hamas. How wrong he is. How biased and undiscerning he is.
I used to rate him. But no longer
@ISIDEWITH2yrs2Y
@ISIDEWITH2yrs2Y
@ISIDEWITH2yrs2Y
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