Gaza Watch: UN Experts Warn of Escalating Malnutrition Crisis in Gaza Strip

By Legal Wires 4 Minutes Read

United Nations (UN) experts from the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council announced on Tuesday that famine has undeniably spread across the Gaza Strip. This declaration comes in the wake of the deaths of three additional Palestinian children in May and June.

The experts found that six-month-old Fayez Ataya, 13-year-old Abdulqader Al-Serhi, and nine-year-old Ahmad Abu Reida died from malnutrition, providing undeniable evidence that famine has gripped the Gaza Strip. The experts assert that the international community’s inaction amounts to complicity, stating, “Israel’s intentional and targeted starvation campaign against the Palestinian people is a form of genocidal violence and has resulted in famine across all of Gaza.”

Gaza has been engulfed in conflict since last year October 2023 when Israel declared war following the deadly Hamas attack. In response to South Africa’s proceedings against Israel, the International Court of Justice has twice ordered Israel to allow humanitarian aid into Gaza, citing the potential violation of the Genocide Convention and noting that famine was setting in with the second order. The expert’s declaration follows the UN World Food Programme’s warning of a “full-blown famine” in May, which was the first official UN confirmation of famine in Gaza.

The expert group urged the international community to “prioritize the delivery of humanitarian aid by land by any means necessary, end Israel’s siege, and establish a ceasefire.” The experts report that 34 Palestinians, most of them children, have died from malnutrition since October 7. According to the Gaza Ministry of Health, 37,232 Palestinians in Gaza have been killed and over 85,000 injured as of June 13, 2024.

The Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council are independent human rights experts tasked with reporting and advising on human rights issues from either a thematic or country-specific perspective. This system is a central component of the United Nations human rights framework and addresses all aspects of human rights: civil, cultural, economic, political, and social.

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