Tel Aviv: Israel's obstruction of humanitarian aid to Gaza has deepened global concern, with legal experts warning the use of starvation as a weapon may amount to war crimes and genocide under international law.
According to Anadolu Agency, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) reported this week that food stocks in Gaza have been fully depleted due to Israel's blockade. Legal analysts say this aligns with patterns of intentional deprivation and is a clear violation of humanitarian law.
Since Oct. 7, 2023, Israel's military campaign has killed 52,418 people and injured 118,091 others in the Gaza Strip. The offensive, now in its 18th month, has destroyed homes, infrastructure, and essential services across the enclave, where more than 2.4 million people now face extreme hunger.
Criminal defense lawyer Atik Malik, director of UK-based Liberty Law Solicitors, explained to Anadolu that deliberate deprivation of necessities such as food, water, and medicine is a prosecutable war crime under the Rome Statute. Malik emphasized that under Article Eight of the Statute of Rome, intentional deprivation of civilians of essential items is potentially a war crime, particularly when the act is deliberate.
Malik highlighted that official Israeli statements and the total aid blockade indicate intent: 'It is very clear; it is a deliberate act. They're using it as a weapon against civilians, which is potentially a war crime.' He noted that military commanders, political leaders, and policymakers could be held individually responsible by the International Criminal Court for acts committed in Palestinian territories.
Gulden Sonmez, a lawyer who represented victims of Israel's 2010 raid on the Turkish Mavi Marmara aid flotilla, remarked that denying food and water to a civilian population fits the legal definition of genocide under Article 6 of the Rome Statute. Sonmez mentioned that while war crime trials became established after World War II, the use of starvation as a method of warfare has rarely triggered prosecution.
Sonmez expressed hope that the global outcry against Israel's actions might help strengthen international legal mechanisms and pave the way for the establishment of new mechanisms. She warned that failure to hold Israeli officials accountable risks long-term damage to the international justice system and future civilian protections.
She noted that the ICC can legally investigate Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and others in Israel's chain of command, citing substantial evidence already collected, including Anadolu's Evidence documentary and witness accounts from journalists in Gaza, which could justify formal legal proceedings.