Islamonweb

New York (UNA/QNA) - Independent UN experts said that “Israel destroyed the food system in Gaza and used food as a weapon, more than 100 days ago during its aggression in the Gaza Strip.”

The UN experts added that the population of Gaza represents 80 percent of all people in the world who face the risk of famine or catastrophic hunger, in light of the continued bombing and siege by the Israeli entity.

The experts pointed out in a press statement that all people in Gaza are now hungry, and 25 percent of the population faces catastrophic levels of hunger and struggles to find food and drinking water, and famine is imminent.

The experts confirmed that there is no safe place in Gaza, and said that the Israeli entity imposed “a complete siege on Gaza since October 9, depriving 2.3 million Palestinians of water, food, fuel, and medical supplies.” This is against the backdrop of 17 years of Israeli closure, which left - before this war - about half of Gaza’s population suffering from food insecurity, and more than 80 percent of them dependent on humanitarian aid.”

The experts said: “It is unprecedented to make an entire civilian population suffer from hunger in such a complete and rapid manner,” pointing out that the Israeli entity is destroying and preventing access to agricultural areas and the sea.

Experts quoted reports that the Israeli entity destroyed about 70 percent of the fishing fleet in Gaza. They said it also destroyed more than 60 percent of Palestinian homes in the Strip.

The experts said they had sounded the alarm several times about the risk of genocide, reminding all governments of their duty to prevent it from occurring. They added, “Israel not only kills Palestinian civilians and causes them irreparable harm with its indiscriminate bombing, but it also causes - knowingly and intentionally - high rates of disease, long-term malnutrition, dehydration, and starvation, through the destruction of civilian infrastructure.”

Independent United Nations experts stressed the need to deliver humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza immediately and without any obstacles to prevent famine. They said that their warning of genocide is not only related to the current bombing of Gaza, but is also related to “slow suffering and death due to the long occupation and siege,” noting that genocide develops through a continuous process and is not a single event.