The Palestinian Return Centre (PRC) in London has sent an advocacy paper to parliamentarians, top diplomats, and stakeholders, including in the UK and Geneva, about Israel’s deliberate use of starvation as a weapon of war against Palestinians in Gaza.

 Citing UN data, PRC said Israel has been deliberately denying Palestinians in Gaza access to food and water as it carries on with its genocidal attacks on the Strip. According to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) currently over 500,000 Palestinians are classified as facing famine levels of starvation and ‘catastrophic hunger’.

 PRC referred to statistics by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Activities(OCHA), which confirmed that only 15 bakeries were in operation across the Gaza Strip, where over 2 million people reside. No bakeries are functional in the north of Wadi Gaza. Gaza is currently suffering the world’s worst current hunger crisis, which is a deliberate attempt by the IOF to destroy any life-sustaining elements for the population.

 “Human Rights Watch had already sounded the alarm at the end of 2023 that Israel was using starvation as a weapon of war. The Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) imposed a ‘total blockade’ on October 9, only allowing limited humanitarian aid to enter Gaza through the Rafah crossing with Egypt”, it added.

 PRC said that since October 7, Israeli politicians and military officials have made statements in the media clearly showing their intent to deprive civilians in Gaza of food, water and fuel.

 PRC reiterated its call on the international community to impose a ceasefire and pressure Israel to immediately allow the entry of humanitarian and food aid to Palestinians in Gaza.