Council of Europe Denounces 'Deliberate Starvation' in Gaza

Since March 2, Israeli forces have blocked all humanitarian aid entering Gaza for its 2.4 million inhabitants - AFP
Since March 2, Israeli forces have blocked all humanitarian aid entering Gaza for its 2.4 million inhabitants - AFP
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Council of Europe Denounces 'Deliberate Starvation' in Gaza

Since March 2, Israeli forces have blocked all humanitarian aid entering Gaza for its 2.4 million inhabitants - AFP
Since March 2, Israeli forces have blocked all humanitarian aid entering Gaza for its 2.4 million inhabitants - AFP

The Council of Europe on Friday said Gaza was suffering from a "deliberate starvation", and warned that Israel was sowing "the seeds for the next Hamas" in the territory.

"The time for a moral reckoning over the treatment of Palestinians has come -- and it is long overdue," said Dora Bakoyannis, rapporteur for the Middle East at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.

The 46-member Council of Europe works to safeguard human rights and democracy.

"No cause, no matter how just or pure, can ever justify every means," Bakoyannis said in a statement, AFP reported.

"The mass killing of children and unarmed civilians, the deliberate starvation, and the relentless pain and humiliation inflicted upon Palestinians in Gaza must end."

Since March 2, Israeli forces have blocked all humanitarian aid entering Gaza for its 2.4 million inhabitants, now threatened with famine, according to several NGOs.

US President Donald Trump said earlier Friday that "a lot of people are starving" in the besieged territory.

Bakoyannis said that "it takes a smart and brave nation to recognise when its actions are causing more harm than good. What is unfolding in Gaza helps no-one".

Breaking a two-month ceasefire, Israel resumed its offensive on March 18, with the declared goal of obtaining the release of all hostages still held in Gaza.

Israeli war on Gaza after Hamas October 7 attack have caused at least 53,010 deaths in Gaza, mostly civilians, according to the latest data from the Hamas Ministry of Health, considered reliable by the UN.



Gaza Rescuers Say 72 Killed by Israeli Fire

Smoke billows after an Israeli strike in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip on June 19, 2025. (Photo by AFP)
Smoke billows after an Israeli strike in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip on June 19, 2025. (Photo by AFP)
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Gaza Rescuers Say 72 Killed by Israeli Fire

Smoke billows after an Israeli strike in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip on June 19, 2025. (Photo by AFP)
Smoke billows after an Israeli strike in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip on June 19, 2025. (Photo by AFP)

Gaza's civil defense agency said Israeli fire killed at least 72 people in the Palestinian territory on Thursday, including 21 who had gathered to receive aid in central and southern Gaza.

Updating an earlier figure, civil defense spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP the death toll had risen to 72, "due to the ongoing Israeli bombardment on the Gaza Strip since dawn today -- 21 of them were waiting for aid.”

The Israeli army told AFP that troops had fired "warning shots" at "suspects" approaching them in the Netzarim area where the civil defense agency said 15 people were killed waiting for aid, but that it was "not aware of any injured individuals.”