Saudi Arabia has expressed deep concern over the official declaration of famine in Gaza, warning that the humanitarian catastrophe is the direct result of the international community’s failure to deter Israel’s war crimes.
The Saudi Arabian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in a statement on Friday, noted that the worsening humanitarian conditions in Gaza “will remain a stain on the international community.”
“The Kingdom affirms that the worsening humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza is a direct result of the absence of deterrence and accountability mechanisms for the repeated crimes committed by the Israeli occupation,” read the statement.
It urged that the UN Security Council “quickly intervene immediately to end the famine and stop the war of genocide and crimes committed by Israel against Palestine.”
After over 22 months of Israel’s genocidal war on the Gaza Strip, the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) announced on Friday that Gaza City and the surrounding areas are officially suffering from famine, and it will likely spread across the besieged territory.
IPC had previously warned that Gaza was on the verge of famine, but now it says for the first time that the events of the past few months – including a new Israeli offensive, increased displacement, and weeks of total Israeli blockade of the territory – have made famine a reality in Gaza.
The report said that 514,000 people, close to a quarter of Palestinians in Gaza, are experiencing famine, with the number due to rise to 641,000 by the end of September.
Kuwait, the Persian Gulf bloc, and Jordan also slammed the Israeli regime for starving Palestinians in Gaza, demanding an end to the Gaza blockade.
Kuwait has denounced the “policy of starvation, oppression, and displacement” pursued by Israel against civilians in Gaza.
The country’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement that Israel’s policy is “in blatant violation of international law and international humanitarian law,” as well as UN Security Council resolutions and in disregard of relevant international legitimacy resolutions.
Kuwait also called on the international community and the Security Council to take action “to allow the urgent entry of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip, to halt the genocide being perpetrated against the brotherly Palestinian people, and to hold the occupying power accountable for the crimes it commits against humanity.”
Secretary-General of the Persian Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi, stressed the need for immediate action by the international community to pressure Israel to open the crossings and allow the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza without restrictions.
In a statement on Friday, Albudaiwi pointed out that the official declaration of famine in the Gaza Strip by the IPC, “clearly reflects the dangerous, inhumane, and illegal starvation policies pursued by the Israeli occupation forces against the brotherly Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip.”
Jordanian Foreign Ministry spokesman Sufyan Qudah called the declaration “a dangerous indicator of the catastrophic humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip, resulting from the systematic inhumane policies and measures by [Israel] that have turned starvation into a weapon against the Palestinians.”
The controversial Israel- and US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) took over all food aid distribution in Gaza from the UN in May, after nearly three months of total aid blockade.
Since then, Gaza’s Health Ministry says more than 2,000 aid seekers have been killed in the GHF aid sites. Reports have revealed that they have been deliberately gunned down by Israeli forces.
As of August 22, the known number of people who have starved to death, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza, reached at least 273 people, including 112 children.
Israel’s war on Gaza has so far killed nearly 62,300 Palestinians and injured at least 157,365 since October 7, 2023.
