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Gaza Diet is the last of the Israeli genocide that has launched since October 7, 2023 war against the afflicted Palestinian sector.
Multiple data indicate that Israel uses food as a weapon, by controlling the calories that enter into the besieged sector and reduce it to the maximum extent, which leads to health and physical changes, up to the famine that threatens Gaza.
But the calorie war has not started since 2023, but rather returns to 2007 when Israel decided to siege of Gaza and control the food items.
Let’s start the story with a report published by the British Guardian in 2012, saying that the Israeli army made accurate accounts of the daily needs of Gaza calories to avoid malnutrition during the blockade imposed on the Palestinian sector between 2007 and mid -2010, according to files published by the Ministry of Defense.
Although Israel said at the time that it had never specified the number of calories available to Gaza, but the document is evidence that the occupation government has limited the food supplies to pressure the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas).
At the peak of the siege, Israel also retained a list of allowed foods prohibited from Gaza.
Restricting the amount of food
At that time, the Israeli “Gisha” organization, which aims to protect the rights of the Palestinian population, fought a long judicial battle to spread the document. Its members say that Israel has calculated the needs of Gaza’s calories to restrict the amount of food that allows it to enter.
The Israeli army imposed the siege after the Gaza classification “hostile entity” in September 2007, and the decision aims to impose strict restrictions on civilians, and Israel said the siege is necessary to weaken Hamas. But it was actually a collective punishment against the inhabitants of Gaza.
“The official goal of this policy was to launch an economic war that would paralyze the Gaza economy,” said Gisha.
According to the document, the food account – which was conducted in January 2008 – relied on the average daily needs of 2279 calories per person.
Israel also used confidential guidelines to distinguish between humanitarian necessities and unnecessary luxuries. The result was that it allowed the entry of frozen salmon and low -fat yogurt into Gaza, but they did not allow the entry of coriander and fast -prepared coffee.
When the document was published, Fawzi Barhoum (Hamas spokesman) said that the document “is evidence that the Gaza blockade was planned, and that the goal was not Hamas or the government, as the occupation has always claimed. This siege targeted all human beings.” “This document must be used to try the occupation for its crimes against humanity in Gaza.”
This confirms that the calorie war is a weapon that is not new, and Israel did not start using it in October 2023.
Food insecurity
In 2017, the United Nations Humanitarian Coordination Office estimated that 40% of Gaza families suffer from food insecurity, and that 80% of the population depends on external aid to survive.
According to Israel, Palestinians need 37% lower fruits and vegetables than Israelis, 19% lower meat than Israelis, and dairy products with 43% lower than Israelis, according to a report published by the “Vegolasing Blue” website.
In April 2024, a report issued by the International Organization of Oxfam revealed that the population of northern Gaza is forced to live with an average of 245 calories per day, less than what it contains a bean can.
The organization said at the time that this small amount of food represents less than 12% of the daily recommended amount of the individual of 2100 calories and was calculated using demographic data that takes into account the differences according to age and sex.
Oxfam’s analysis was based on the latest available data used in the integrated phased analysis of the IPC (IPC) of the Gaza Strip. Oxfam also found that the total food shipments allowed to enter Gaza for its 2.2 million people – from October 2023 until the date of the publication of its report in April 2024 – reached average of only 41% of the daily calories needed for the individual.
The report said that children are already dying from hunger and malnutrition, and their condition often exacerbates diseases.
Blessed decisions to starve civilians
“Israel makes deliberate decisions to starve civilians. Imagine how the situation is, not only to try to survive with 245 calories per day, but also to see your children or your elderly relatives do the same. All of this is in light of their displacement, with the scarcity or lack of access to clean water or toilets, knowing that most medical support has been cut off The constant threat of drones and bombs.
“Israel ignores the UN Justice Court to prevent genocide and the decisions of the United Nations Security Council,” he added.
65,000 children face death due to the Israeli starring policy
On Friday, the Gaza government warned that more than 65,000 children are at risk of imminent starvation due to the Israeli siege, and the closure of the basic supplies of the Gaza Strip for a period of two months as part of its campaign to exterminate the Palestinian sector.
“The Israeli occupation is making a famine that leads to the lives of civilians, and continues to commit a systematic crime against 2.4 million people by closing the crossings and preventing 39,000 aid truck carrying food, fuel and medicines, in a flagrant violation of international law.”
He added that all bakeries have been suspended from work for 40 days, which deprives civilians of bread.
“More than 65,000 children face the risk of starvation due to malnutrition, as Israel uses hunger a weapon against civilians,” he added.
The statement indicated that 70 days of the complete Israeli closure of the crossings have exacerbated the collapse of the humanitarian and health systems in Gaza.
The Gaza Information Office urged the international community and the United Nations to intervene urgently to stop the siege, reopen the crossings, and allow the flow of assistance and basic materials to Gaza.
This statement comes at a time when UN officials strongly criticized the humanitarian aid plan that Israel recently proposed to Gaza, warning that it may exacerbate the suffering of civilians and fail to meet the basic humanitarian standards.
Israel has kept the Gaza crossings closed to food, medical and humanitarian aid since the second of March, which exacerbated the already worsening humanitarian crisis in the Strip, according to governmental, human rights and international reports.
One meal daily
Last April, a report published by the United Nations website said, “Living on one meal has become a day, and rapidly depleted the decreasing food shares, a desperate reality in the Gaza Strip, where humanitarian aid has been prohibited for nearly two months.”
Humanitarian workers continue to warn them of the spread of hunger and its exacerbation in the besieged sector, in light of the blockade, arrival restrictions, and continuous Israeli military operations.
UNRWA has shared the testimony of a woman named Umm Muhammad, who resides in a shelter in Gaza City, and attends food for 11 individuals from her family daily. Although she still has some flour, most of the neighboring families have already run out of their stock.
“When I knead and bake, I feel very ashamed of myself, so I deport some bread to children who ask for a piece of bread,” she said.
“We eat one meal daily, and we share bread between each individual daily. We eat canned, lentils and rice. When this stock is running out, I do not know what we will do because what is available in the market is rare.”
Since January, about 10,000 severe malnutrition have been recorded among children, including 1,600 severe malnutrition.
Despite the availability of treatment supplies in the south, access to it is still an extreme challenge due to operational and security restrictions.
The Humanitarian Coordination Office has confirmed that the depletion of the basic stocks in Gaza beyond the issue of food. For example, the medical supplies related to shocks are depleted at a time when the number of people with injuries is increasing.
Gaza also lacks surgical supplies, including curtains and gloves. WHO (WHO) reported that its warehouses have run out of therapeutic milk, intravenous antibiotics and pain relievers, as well as ambulance parts and oxygen stations.
Partners working in the field of health added that an increasing number of basic employees are prevented from reaching Gaza, with the increasing cases of preventing medical emergency teams, especially specialists with high specializations – including orthopedic and cosmetic surgeons – and recently restricted the movement across the sector.
the countdown
A report by Methael Agarawal – published by “NBC News” on May 4 – says that thousands of children in Gaza have been admitted to hospitals due to malnutrition, and with their deteriorating health condition, doctors’ options were exhausted to treat them.
The report said that the doctors started the countdown for the days before the slow deaths began due to hunger to occur collectively.
In a statement to the “NBC News” network, Dr. Ahmed Al -Farra, head of the Department of Pediatrics and Gynecology at Nasser Hospital, said “within one week, we will witness a severe famine.”
Parents are now watching their weak children starving, after warehouses became empty and forced community kitchens to close. In a place where 80% of its population depends on aid – according to the United Nations – the relief agencies no longer have a lot for its progress.
Doctors like Al -Farra warn that hunger will turn into a deadly disease, and this warning has become a reality.
“We are talking about 57 deaths due to hunger in pediatrics,” Al -Farra said, adding that the cases are expected to rise not only in the number, but also in distress. “We are talking about an increase in cases of malnutrition and anemia,” he added.
And the Palestinians in Gaza are still facing the danger of malnutrition, in light of the continuous Israeli bombing. The health care system suffers from poor performance, so it does not treat even the most serious injuries, and the simplest injuries turn into fatal injuries in the absence of blood supply that are also drained due to hunger.
Hunger began with the most vulnerable groups, including newborns, and children who are already suffering from other diseases are the most at risk.
An inexpensive, silent and murderous method
In an article by Ahmed Moore, published in the Guardian newspaper on May 7, the writer said, “Israel is the starvation of Gaza. It is an inexpensive, silent, and brutal method for killing.”
The writer – a colleague of the Peace Corporation in the Middle East – said that former Israeli Defense Minister Joav Gallant is the mastermind of starvation policy in Gaza, whose details are currently revealing. The International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for him, noting “reasonable reasons for the belief that Mr. Netanyahu and Mr. Gallent are criminal responsibility for the crime of war of starvation as a method of war.”
Israel Katz (Khalifa Gallant) has adopted the latter’s policy. He and Netanyahu violated the ceasefire with Hamas in March. Since then, they have worked hard to starve Gaza residents, as Israeli forces have prevented the entry of food and medicine and the basic supplies needed to preserve human life into the Strip for more than two months.
On May 2, Amnesty International issued an urgent notice saying, “Israel must immediately end its devastating blockade of the occupied Gaza Strip, which represents genocide, a flagrant form of unlawful collective punishment, and a war crime represented in the use of civilians as a war of war.”
“Spring is tempting to perpetrators of mass murder for several reasons, first because it is not expensive. While killing people may be expensive, tanks, bombs, missiles, drones, bullets, and incendiary devices are all cost huge money to make and distribute them. But starvation does not require exorbitant expenses. (And the tongue of their condition says): impose a siege and will replace the rest.”
He added, “Besides its application licenses, starvation does not make a sensation. For those who seek to silence their victims – as Israel did by killing at least 155 Palestinian journalists – and obfuscation on their actions, starvation is a useful tool. There is no bombs, nor burned children or journalists. There are only meager bodies. Many.
The writer said that starvation is a slow and painful way to die. For survivors, especially children, their future weakens. The natural growth of the brain and social growth is disrupted, and recovery may be impossible in many cases.
He added that in the early stages of starvation, the body uses its reserves – usual fat – to continue. Once these reserves are exhausted, a process that differs from one individual to another, the body begins to consume itself. Members such as the lungs, liver and kidneys shrink before they also start damage.
Finally, the muscles are the only remaining energy store, devouring the body. As Dr. Nancy Zucker, Director of the Duke University Eating Disorder Center – for NPR radio, NPR – as soon as protein stocks begin to consume, “death is not far away.”
Source : Tel Aviv Tribune + American press + Agencies + Anatolia Agency
