Gaza, July 26 (QNA) - The Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor confirmed that approximately 1,200 elderly Palestinians died over the past two months due to the compounded effects of starvation, malnutrition, and denial of medical treatment under Israel’s ongoing blockade - conditions that sharply worsened in recent days. The Monitor expressed concern that the actual death toll may be significantly higher.

In a statement issued on Saturday, the organization reported an unprecedented spike in daily fatalities over the past two weeks. Hundreds of elderly individuals are arriving at hospitals and primary care centers each day suffering from extreme exhaustion in search of basic medical fluids and nutritional support.

According to the Monitor, Gaza's health authorities officially documented 55 starvation-related deaths in a single week, raising the total number of confirmed cases to over 120 - including more than 80 children. However, these figures do not account for all the deaths resulting from hunger and lack of access to treatment.

The field team reported that dozens of elderly individuals died in displacement tents due to hunger, malnutrition, or lack of medication. Many of these deaths were registered as natural causes, owing to absence of a systematic mechanism for documenting them, and due to families often choosing to bury their relatives immediately.

The Monitor emphasized that absence of an effective tracking system by Gaza's health authorities has led to the underreporting of starvation-related deaths, which in reality are the result of deliberate starvation policies and the systematic dismantling of the healthcare infrastructure. These practices, the statement noted, amount to forms of deliberate killing prohibited under international humanitarian and criminal law.

The statement described the situation as part of an ongoing genocide that persisted for nearly 22 months, marked by intentional starvation, severe suffering, and systematic deprivation of healthcare - all enforced under a total blockade. It added that the Israeli occupation is using hunger and denial of medical aid as weapons to kill civilians, especially the most vulnerable, as part of an intensified siege that began on October 7, 2023, and was further tightened on March 2 of this year.

Euro-Med Monitor said its field team had documented harrowing testimonies from elderly individuals whose health rapidly deteriorated due to hunger and lack of medical care. It accused Israeli authorities of weaponizing aid - controlling its quantity and delivery mechanisms to engineer hunger and convert humanitarian assistance into traps of death and humiliation.

The statement condemned Israel's destruction of thousands of tons of aid that spoiled while being held for extended periods near Gaza, even as people die daily from starvation - calling this a disgrace not only for Israel but also for the international community, which remains largely silent or issues hollow statements that “neither feed a child nor save a starving elderly person.

The Monitor stressed that the humanitarian crisis in Gaza reached catastrophic levels. Hunger is no longer confined to vulnerable groups but now affects all segments of society amid the near-total collapse of basic services and the absence of life-sustaining essentials, including food, healthcare, and shelter.

It also highlighted that the situation is worsened by heavy Israeli bombardment targeting homes and shelters, as well as forced displacement, with families losing what little canned food or belongings they have as they flee for safety.

The human rights group called on all countries to fulfill their legal responsibilities and urgently act to halt what it described as a genocide in Gaza. It urged the international community to take concrete measures to protect Palestinian civilians and to lift the illegal blockade imposed on the Strip. (QNA)