In today’s world we cannot wage war. No one would allow us to starve 2 million civilians, even if it were justified and moral, until our hostages were returned. – said the Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotricz on Monday, explaining that Israel is allowing aid deliveries to the Gaza Strip because it “has no other option.”
Who is Smotrich?
Smotrich is the leader of a far-right alliance Religious Zionism. He supports the reoccupation of the Gaza Strip and, as he puts it, the “voluntary migration” of many Palestinians from that territory. As minister responsible for Israeli policy in the occupied Palestinian territories, he also supports the expansion of Jewish settlements in those areas, which are illegal under international law.
The world is outraged by Smotricz’s words
The deliberate starvation of civilians is a war crime, and Smotrich’s statement is extremely shameful and shows once again his contempt for international law and the “basic principles of humanity”, commented the European Union’s foreign minister. Josep Borrell in a statement released on Wednesday.
There is no justification for Smotrich’s words and we expect other members of the Israeli government to step down and condemn these statements,” the British Foreign Secretary wrote on social media. David Lammy. These are “unacceptable and appalling” comments; protecting civilians in times of war and providing them with food and water is a fundamental principle of humanitarianism, added German Ambassador to Israel Steffen Siebert.
Deliberately starving millions of Palestinians would be “unjust and immoral,” the minister’s words are contrary to Israeli and Jewish values, said the Israeli branch of the Anti-Defamation League, an American organization that fights anti-Semitism.
Crisis in the Gaza Strip
The war has been going on for ten months Gaza Strip caused a humanitarian crisis on a massive scale. Most of the inhabitants of the ruined and blockaded territory became internal refugees, living in makeshift tents.
According to the latest system evaluation Classification of Food Safety Phases Nearly half a million people in the Gaza Strip suffer from “catastrophically severe” food insecurity that puts them at risk of starvation.
Aid organizations claim that the delivery of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip is hampered by Israeli restrictions, ongoing fighting and a security breakdown. Israel responds that it does not restrict the entry of aid into Gaza, but that humanitarian agencies and Hamas, which hijacks transports, are responsible for the failure of aid to reach those in need there.
History of the war in the Gaza Strip
The war in the Gaza Strip launched an attack on Israel by the Palestinian terrorist organization Hamas that rules the territory on October 7, 2023, in which nearly 1,200 people were killed and 251 were kidnapped. Nearly 39,700 people have died due to the fighting in Gaza. people – local authorities reported on Thursday, which do not distinguish between civilian victims and dead fighters in their announcements.
