Michelle Thompson‘Israel intends to punish all Palestinians simply for being Palestinians. Michael Fakhri tells Anadolu: “In short, this is genocide.”
A UN special rapporteur on the right to food told Anadolu on Wednesday that Israel has been using hunger as a “weapon” in its attacks on the Gaza Strip.
Michael Fakhri stated that Israel aims to punish all Palestinians, which is “a genocide,” and that Gaza has never witnessed this level of famine.
“Even before forces moved to Rafah, we were raising the alarm that every single person in Gaza was hungry, at least one-quarter of the population was starving, and that famine was imminent,” he said of the famine and the events in Gaza as a result of Israeli attacks and the embargo.
“Since then, two events have occurred. First, numerous countries have decided not to pay the most significant humanitarian agency in Gaza, but rather all Palestinian refugees, which are currently at war. Second, we now have Israeli soldiers advancing into Rafah, cramming hundreds of thousands of Palestinians into such a tight space,” Fakhri said.
He stated that he is “running out of ways to describe the inhumanity, violence, and brutality.”
“Previously, we stated that hunger was looming. I wouldn’t be astonished if by the end of the month we’re saying there’s a full-fledged famine,” he said.
Fakhri stated that aid reaching Gaza is insufficient to support the population.
“The difficulty with starving people is that the process is slow, painful, and violent. This means that the impact will be felt for months, years, even decades to come. Even if there is a cease-fire today, the impact will last generations due to the large number of children who have been harmed. So, the important thing to remember is that over 1 million children live in Gaza, and their future is at stake. What we do know is that the 335,000 youngsters under fire are at risk of permanent physical and cognitive impairment.
“What makes this situation unusual is that we have never witnessed this level of hunger or an entire population like this. So, over 2.2 million people might go hungry so soon,” he explained.
Fakhri noted that the Israelis have repeatedly expressed their intention to target all Palestinians, saying, “Based on all the statements that we have been reading and all the statements that have been made, both as government and individual efforts, their intent is ethnic cleansing; their intent is to punish all civilians, all people in Gaza.” Their objective is to drive them out of Gaza and punish them collectively. This conflict isn’t about self-defense, nor is it about Hamas attacking on October 7. The intention was to punish all Palestinians merely because they are Palestinian. “This is a genocide.”
Fakhri stated that he has seen that the UN cannot do anything at this time and that the world community is not organized enough to exert pressure on Israel.
Emily Martinez
