Engineered starvation: Israel’s roadmap to the submission of Gaza
At the heart of one of the world’s most densely populated regions, a humanitarian catastrophe is unfolding in Gaza; one not born of accident, but crafted through deliberate and calculated military strategy. Hunger, once seen as a tragic byproduct of war, has here been turned into a weapon; an instrument of control, degradation, and even erasure of a people. By dismantling food systems, restricting access to vital resources, and fostering total dependency on external aid, Israel has weaponized starvation against the people of Gaza. This approach, rooted in demographic and political aims, constitutes not only a gross violation of international law, but a systemic campaign to impose domination and extinguish Palestinian aspirations. Meticulously designed and ruthlessly executed, it has turned daily survival into a grueling ordeal. And the world, through its silence or inaction, has become a bystander to this deliberate cruelty.
The destruction of food systems
Israel’s targeting of Gaza’s agricultural infrastructure has effectively annihilated the backbone of the region’s food self-sufficiency. Reports indicate that over 95 per cent of Gaza’s farmland has either been destroyed or rendered unusable. Farms have been bombed, irrigation systems dismantled, fishing activities blocked, and access to agricultural seeds restricted, all under the guise of military operations. But these actions reveal a larger plan: to sever the people of Gaza from any independent food source. With production capacity crushed, Palestinians have become entirely reliant on external aid, a dependency that Israel exploits to use food as political leverage.
Farmers and fishermen, once central to Gaza’s economy, now endure relentless assault and suffocating restrictions, often........© Middle East Monitor
