Amnesty Report Accuses Israel of Using Starvation as a Weapon in Gaza

The organization’s latest assessment, released Thursday, draws on testimonies from medical personnel and parents of malnourished children to document the acute desperation within the territory. Amnesty contends that Israel has systematically barred the United Nations and other international aid groups from operations, replacing them with a restricted framework that fails to meet the basic needs of a population enduring nearly 20 months of bombardment. While hundreds of aid trucks remain staged at the Egyptian border, their entry is blocked, creating a bottleneck that keeps supplies well below life-sustaining levels.

"As the occupying power, Israel has a legal obligation to ensure Palestinians in Gaza have access to food, medicine and other supplies essential for their survival," said Agnès Callamard, secretary general of Amnesty International. She emphasized that the state has defied binding orders from the International Court of Justice issued throughout 2024. The report arrives alongside allegations from two American aid contractors, who reported that Israeli forces frequently deploy live ammunition and stun grenades against unarmed civilians seeking food. In response to the claims, the Israeli Foreign Ministry defended its aid protocols and accused Amnesty of maintaining ties with Hamas.