Geneva: The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child has issued a grave warning that the ongoing blockade by Israeli forces on the Gaza Strip, now in its eleventh week, could lead to an increase in child fatalities due to starvation.
According to Kuwait News Agency, the Committee highlighted that over 50 children have already succumbed to hunger, and approximately 71,000 children under five are at risk of acute malnutrition in the coming year. These figures were supported by data from the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the World Health Organization (WHO).
The Committee condemned the continued obstruction of humanitarian aid to Gaza, urging the international community to exert pressure on the occupying power to allow immediate and sustained access for essential food and medical supplies. It emphasized that the denial of humanitarian assistance has exacerbated the already severe food security crisis, stressing that “the right to food is a fundamental human right intrinsically linked to the right to life and as such it is non-derogable under international law.”
In addition, the UN Committee strongly condemned the ongoing military aggression by Israeli forces in the Gaza Strip, which has resulted in the deaths and injuries of numerous women and children. The report indicated that more than 100 children were killed in the last week alone, excluding victims of the most recent strikes, pushing the humanitarian situation to a critical breaking point.
The Committee firmly stated that there is no justification for actions that violate international humanitarian law and international human rights law, including the Conventions on the Rights of the Child and the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.
Furthermore, the Committee reaffirmed the significance of the International Court of Justice (ICJ)’s Advisory Opinion of 19 July 2024, and its Orders from 26 January and 24 May 2024, related to the case South Africa v. Israel concerning the application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide in the Gaza Strip.
The Committee called on the occupying power to take immediate action to ensure the right to life, survival, and development of all Palestinian children, halt the killing and injuring of children in Gaza, and allow safe and unrestricted humanitarian access throughout the Gaza Strip.