This picture taken from a position on Israel's border with the Gaza Strip, shows Israeli armoured vehicles along the separation fence and destroyed buildings in the besieged Palestinian territory, at sunset. AFP
In a statement published online, the Palestinian resistance group called for "immediate action by the UN and the security council to stop the war and lift the siege" and demanded that crossings be opened "without restrictions to allow the urgent and continuous entry of food, medicine, water and fuel".
Hundreds of trucks of food aid remain outside the border unable to enter, blocked by Israel’s restrictions that have turned Gaza into what aid agencies describe as a man-made famine zone.
The group went on to say that the declaration by the United Nations confirmed the "humanitarian catastrophe" in Gaza and warned that Israel is using starvation as a "tool of war".
"We in the Hamas movement emphasise the importance of this UN declaration, even though it comes far too late - after long months of warnings and suffering endured by our people under systematic siege and starvation," the group said.
“The denial of famine in Gaza exposes a criminal mentality that deliberately lies to cover up crimes of killing and starvation,” it stressed, referring to repeated Israeli claims there is no famine in Gaza, despite universal recognition of the mass starvation spreading under Israel's blockade.
"The international community and all its institutions bear an urgent legal and moral responsibility to stop the crimes against humanity and save more than two million people facing genocide, starvation and systematic destruction of all aspects of life," it added.
The death toll from starvation under Israel's five-month blockade has risen to 271, including 112 children, Gaza's health ministry said on Thursday.
On Friday, it said two more Palestinians had died of hunger in the past 24 hours, while Israeli attacks across the enclave killed 71 people in the same period.
In January 2024, the International Court of Justice, in a case brought by South Africa, ruled that Israel was committing acts tantamount to genocide. The UN’s top court ordered Israel to take immediate steps to prevent deaths and destruction, but mass killing has continued.
Israel’s 22-month war on Gaza has killed at least 62,122 Palestinians, mostly women and children, since it began in October 2023. Several UN experts, rights organisations and aid groups have also recognised Israel's actions in Gaza as "acts of genocide."
*This story was edited by Ahram Online.
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