Israel is Practicing Starvation Policy to Evacuate Northern Gaza

Gaza, MINA – The spokesman for the Palestinian Civil Defense Society (PCDS) in Gaza said on Monday that the Israeli occupation forces (IOF) are practicing a policy of starvation, exhaustion, and abuse against Palestinians in Jabalia with the aim of evacuating the northern Gaza Strip.

Mahmoud Basal emphasized that “whoever did not die from the bombing will die of hunger,” as the Israeli army is starving the population by enforcing a stifling siege on the region, Palinfo reported.

He pointed out that some families that the PCDS crews were able to reach said that they “have not eaten for 5 days since they were targeted by the IOF.”

He noted that the Israeli army is now bombing shelters and any civilian gatherings in an attempt to force them to evacuate to Gaza City after bombing residential areas.

To inflict the greatest number of martyrs and wounded on the population, the occupation army not only forced them to flee but also bombed, killed, tortured, and humiliated them, he said.

The lack of capabilities and the difficulty of accessing the bombing sites in areas designated by the Israeli army as “red zones that are prohibited to reach” limit the PCDS teams’ ability to perform their duties as needed, he noted.

He called on international organizations and the international community to put pressure on Israel to permit civil defense and medical teams to reach these areas, explaining that many injured people stay alive under the debris for several days after their homes were bombed, but rescue teams are unable to get to them because of the bombing.

More than 600 Palestinians have been killed since Israel started invading Jabalia on October 5, according to Basal, who also noted that civil defense teams are unable to reach the bodies of dozens of dead who are still on the streets and beneath the debris.

In a statement, the UN Human Rights Office said Israeli forces demolished a block of homes in Jabalia on Monday, while also hitting at least three UNRWA schools there.

The UN Human Rights Office said it is concerned Israel “may be causing the destruction of the Palestinian population in Gaza’s northernmost governorate through death and displacement.”

Since October 7, 2023, the IOF has been conducting a genocidal war on the Gaza Strip, killing and injuring roughly 141,000 Palestinians, most of whom were children and women.

In addition, over 10,000 people are still missing amid widespread destruction and famine, which has claimed the lives of thousands of children.

This came in total disregard to the UN Security Council resolution that called for an end to the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip, as well as the International Court of Justice’s ruling that urged for immediate measures to be taken to prevent acts of genocide and to improve the catastrophic humanitarian situation in Gaza. (T/RE1/P2)

Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)