Palestinian resistance factions have appealed to the international community, particularly those who have signed the Geneva Conventions, to take immediate action in implementing the established protocols for famine relief and urgent humanitarian aid in the Gaza Strip.

The groups, in a statement released on Saturday, demanded prompt international intervention to create secure corridors for the unhindered delivery of food and medicine to Gaza.

The statement comes following the declaration of famine in the besieged coastal sliver by a leading global hunger monitor.

On Friday, the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) system said 514,000 people – close to a quarter of Palestinians in Gaza – are experiencing famine.

“This [UN] declaration comes as the Zionist army prepares to occupy Gaza City as part of the genocidal war the Israeli occupation has been waging for nearly two years,” the Palestinian resistance factions said.

They urged the Arab and Muslim countries to move beyond statements of condemnation and take concrete and real steps to break the Israeli siege on Gaza and save its residents, “who are dying of starvation and war crimes.”

The Palestinian Health Ministry in Gaza reports that eight people, including two children, have died of malnutrition in the past 24 hours.

Overall, 281 people, including 114 children, have died due to the Israel-induced starvation crisis in the territory.

The ministry stated that despite its lateness, it “appreciates” the declaration of famine in Gaza.

“We emphasize that the engineering of starvation is one aspect of the chapters of genocide, which also include the systematic destruction of the health sector and other sectors, mass killing, and the policy of exterminating generations,” It wrote in a statement on Telegram.

The ministry added that “hundreds” of people who have died could have been saved while “the lives of thousands are at stake”.

“The international community faces a real test; time calls for actions, not just statements, despite their importance,” it said.

The Israeli military has pursued a brutal offensive on Gaza since October 7, 2023, dismissing international appeals for a ceasefire, resulting in the deaths of at least 62,622 Palestinians, predominantly women and children.

The unrelenting airstrikes have ravaged the region and caused significant food shortages.