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As other Muslims around the world consume traditional Ramadan
meals and desserts to break their fast after sunset, residents
of the besieged strip are lucky to find a few scraps of food, or
sips of water, after more than five months of Israeli
bombardment in its war with Hamas.
The United Nations human rights chief on Tuesday said Israel's
restrictions on humanitarian aid for Gaza may amount to a
starvation tactic that could be a war crime, after a U.N.-backed
report found famine is likely by May without an end to the
fighting.
Israel has denied blocking aid to Gaza.
"The children of Palestine are innocent, they need the basic
necessities of life, and all this is due to the siege and the
destruction of homes and all that," said Bassam al-Hilou, a
resident of the Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza.
He called on human rights organizations to take action to end
the siege for the "dignity" of the Palestinian people and for an
end to the Israeli military campaign, which shows no sign of
easing despite mediation efforts by Qatar and Egypt.
Israel's offensive in Gaza has killed more than 30,000
Palestinians, according to Gaza health officials, and reduced
much of the enclave to rubble.
The campaign was triggered by Hamas's Oct. 7 attack, in which
Israel said 1,200 people were killed and more than 200 were
taken hostage.
Children walk away from the crowded aid stations with enough
food in their pots, perhaps for a few hours, until hunger sets
in again.
(Writing by Michael Georgy; Editing by Sharon Singleton)
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