A UN expert has accused Israel of destroying Gaza’s food system as part of a broader “starvation campaign”.
Berating the UN Human Rights Council, special rapporteur on the right to food Michael Fakhri said: “The images of starvation in Gaza are unbearable and you are doing nothing.
“Israel has mounted a starvation campaign against the Palestinian people in Gaza,” he added, saying that included targeting small-scale fishermen.
A Palestinian living in Gaza claimed earlier this week that people who tried to fish were fired upon.
Aid officials have warned of looming famine, while hospitals in the isolated northern part of the territory say children have started dying from malnutrition.
Yeela Cytrin, a legal adviser at the Israeli mission to the UN, called Mr Fakhri’s allegations a “blatant lie”.
“Israel utterly rejects allegations that it is using starvation as a tool of war,” she told the council and then walked out in protest.
Earlier this evening, Sir Mark Lowcock, former head of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, told Sky News more than 30,000 people will likely starve to death and the biggest problem was the level of aid access allowed by Israel.
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