‘Israel Weaponzing Food’

OCHA: 500 Thousand Palestinians Displaced in Gaza Since March

Date: 18 April 2025 - 23:18

News ID: ۱۳۸۶۲۹

GAZA (Dispatches) – Nearly half a million Palestinians have been displaced in Gaza since March 18 when the Zionist regime relaunched its genocidal campaign in the enclave, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
In a statement on Thursday, OCHA reported that the majority of those displaced had already been forced to flee multiple times before a temporary truce that began on January 19. The cycle of repeated displacement has drastically worsened the humanitarian situation, compounding the suffering of civilians already living under extreme conditions.
OCHA emphasized that “ongoing hostilities across the Gaza Strip continue to have devastating effects on civilians, including death, displacement and the destruction of vital infrastructure.”
The office also noted that the Israeli occupation continues to deny coordinated humanitarian missions access. “Today, only two out of six planned and coordinated humanitarian movements were facilitated by Israel,” the statement said.
“Israel rejected four other missions, including one intended to bring fuel from Rafah,” it added, without providing further details on the reasons for rejection or the nature of the other missions and their humanitarian aid.
Relief organizations have reported a severe shortage of tents across Gaza. In places like Bani Suheila, displaced families have received little more than a few blankets and strips of fabric as temporary shelter.
OCHA also drew attention to a sharp rise in acute malnutrition, noting that the number of children receiving supplemental food aid plummeted by more than two-thirds in March.
The report added that Israeli-imposed restrictions are significantly hampering efforts to deliver medical supplies to hospitals, putting more lives at risk as facilities struggle to meet growing health needs.
“More than 2 million people remain trapped inside Gaza. Ongoing hostilities and dwindling aid supplies have driven up stress levels — especially among children — with mental health needs growing by the day,” Stephane Dujarric, a UN spokesman also told reporters on Thursday.
Citing OCHA, Dujarric said humanitarian supplies are nearing depletion since Israel imposed a full closure on the entry of cargo, including humanitarian aid, into the enclave on March 2.
The water sector has been “heavily” affected by hostilities with almost 90% of the water assets, he added.
“We reiterate that Israel, as the occupying power, has clear obligations under international law, which include ensuring food, medical supplies and public health services are available, and facilitating humanitarian relief when these are not otherwise supplied,” Dujarric stressed.
Since the beginning of March, the occupation forces have been preventing the entry of any medical, food or other essential supplies, exacerbating the already dire health crisis in the Gaza Strip.
UN experts and rights groups have warned that this is part of Israel’s genocidal policy and efforts to clear out Gaza of Palestinians in order to annex the enclave.
Meanwhile, Hamas accused the Zionist regime on Thursday of using starvation as a “weapon of war” after Defense Minister, Israel Katz, acknowledged that Tel Aviv was blocking food and aid into the enclave to pressure the Resistance group, Anadolu Agency reports.
On Wednesday, Katz said that Israel’s policy is to prevent the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza as “one of the main pressure levers preventing Hamas from using it as a tool with the population.”
“Katz’s statement is a renewed public acknowledgment that Israel is committing a war crime,” Hamas said in a statement.
These comments “confirm the use of starvation as a weapon to deprive innocent civilians of basic necessities for life, including food, medicine, water and fuel,” it added.