Egypt condemns Israel use of starvation as weapon in Gaza war

Ahram Online , Monday 23 Sep 2024

Minister of Foreign Affairs Badr Abdelatty condemned Israel’s starvation policies and use of food as a weapon in its year-long war on the Gaza Strip, expressing his concern about the deterioration of the humanitarian situation in the Palestinian territory.

Abdelatty

 

FM Abdelatty made his remarks in a meeting with Executive Director of the World Food Programme (WFP) Cindy McCain on the sidelines of his participation in the United Nations General Assembly.

During the meeting, he underlined the logistical difficulties imposed by Israel hindering the timely delivery of aid to the Palestinian people, according to a statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The statement added that the foreign minister called on the WFP to intensify its activities in the strip to alleviate the ongoing humanitarian crisis.

Moreover, he highlighted Egypt's efforts in providing humanitarian support for Gaza and facilities granted to other countries and various donor agencies to help Palestinians.

Since 7 October, Israel has killed and injured over 130,000 Palestinians, primarily women and children. It has also damaged much of Gaza’s infrastructure, displaced the majority of its population, and cut off all food, medicine, and fuel supplies, putting the strip on the verge of famine.

Egypt has facilitated the entry of international humanitarian aid to 2.3 million Palestinians, since the war started, mainly through the Rafah crossing between Egypt and the strip and the Karm Abu Salem crossing between Egypt, Gaza, and Israel.

However, Israeli forces attacked and closed the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing in early May, preventing hundreds of aid trucks from reaching a near-starving population.

Since then, Israel has allowed limited food and medicine through the Karm Abu Salem crossing.

Earlier in September, the WFP reported that 2.2 million people in Gaza are in desperate need of humanitarian aid after 11 months of war.

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