The Independent reports: “‘No one is spared’: Children are starving to death in Gaza and even the medics treating them faint from hunger.” AntiWar.com reports: “Fifteen More Palestinians Starve to Death in Gaza Due to US-Backed Israeli Blockade” and “Israeli Forces Kill 72 Palestinians in Gaza Over 24 Hours.”
Michael Fakhri, UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food, states there is an obligation to act: “We knew that Israel had intended to starve the Palestinians in Gaza since October 9, 2023 when Israel announced explicitly its plan to starve the Palestinians in Gaza. For 20 months, the governments of the world were on notice and had many opportunities to stop what’s happening. … The International Court of Justice itself in January, recognised there is famine and starvation in Gaza. That creates a mandatory obligation. Countries MUST act to stop starvation. So it creates a legal obligation for every country in the world to step in and end this starvation and famine in Gaza today. So what must happen now? Governments can act through the General Assembly because the United States keeps exercising its veto at the Security Council. When that happens, the General Assembly has the authority to call upon peacekeepers to accompany humanitarian convoys into Gaza to protect the convoys and bring aid.”
Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim calls for an international coalition to break the siege on Gaza and deliver aid “This is the hour for moral leadership. This is the time to uphold the values we claim to defend. … Malaysia stands ready to work with all nations — North and South, East and West — to bring relief to Gaza, and to restore the basic principles of humanity. Let us not be remembered as those who stood by. Let us be guided by our conscience, to answer suffering with compassion, and to pursue peace for the sake of our humanity.”
Ousman Noor of Protect Palestine is calling for a “global campaign for an international military force to protect Palestinian civilians, ensure aid and safeguard the Palestinian right to self-determination.”
May 22, The Guardian published Fakhri’s piece: “If aid doesn’t enter Gaza now, 14,000 babies may die. UN peacekeepers must step in.” And in June, The Guardian published a news piece which quoted him: “Send in armed UN troops to protect aid convoys or risk ‘dystopia’, says expert.”
Available for interviews:
DELINDA HANLEY, [email protected]
Hanley is executive editor of the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs which is one of the sponsors of the petition “UN General Assembly: Deploy an Emergency Armed Multinational Protection Force to Gaza!” with DAWN and other groups.