Gaza, October 23 (QNA) - A human rights monitor has warned of a renewed risk of famine in the Gaza Strip, citing a severe shortage of flour and essential food supplies, the closure of bakeries, and the collapse of the population's purchasing power; all amid the ongoing Israeli blockade and restrictions on the entry of humanitarian and commercial goods.

In a statement issued today, the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor (Euro-Med Monitor) stated that the tightening of the blockade, including control over the quantity, quality, and regularity of food supplies, following the destruction of local food production sources and access channels, has left more than two million Palestinians deprived of the basic necessities for survival. This, the organization noted, reinforces the use of starvation as a tool within the ongoing genocide that has persisted since October 2023.

Euro-Med Monitor explained that the deliberate subjection of Palestinians to living conditions designed to deprive them of the essentials for survival, with the intent of bringing about their physical destruction, in whole or in part, constitutes an act of genocide as defined under Article II(c) of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.

The rights monitor emphasized that the continued imposition of these lethal conditions, persisting even after their fatal consequences have become evident and repeatedly warned against, serves as compelling evidence of the specific intent to commit genocide.

This is further underscored by the systematic destruction of the foundations of life, the prevention of their restoration, and explicit statements by Israeli officials indicating an intent to destroy the Palestinian population in the Gaza Strip.

Consequently, the management of border crossings and the control of supplies are being utilized as instruments to carry out genocide and perpetuate conditions that lead to the physical destruction of the population. (QNA)