00:00Seven minutes ago, 10.25 BST, Israel has been widely accused of using food as a political
00:06weapon and of flagrantly breaking international law by collectively punishing the civilian
00:11population of Gaza by its aid blockade. Aid organizations were bringing somewhere between
00:16500 and 600 trucks a day into Gaza during the ceasefire earlier this year, but now Israeli
00:22restrictions mean much less aid is being allowed into the territory. The Guardian's chief Middle
00:27East correspondent, Emma Graham Harrison, has broken down in great detail how Israel has
00:33deliberately caused a famine in Gaza. Here is an extract from her piece. The mathematics of famine
00:39are simple in Gaza. Palestinians cannot leave, war has ended farming, and Israel has banned fishing,
00:46so practically every calorie its population eats must be brought in from outside. Israel knows how
00:51much food is needed. It has been calibrating hunger in Gaza for decades, initially calculating ship
00:57to exert pressure while avoiding starvation. The idea is to put the Palestinians on a diet,
01:03but not to make them die of hunger, a senior advisor to the then Prime Minister, Ehud Olmert,
01:09said in 2006. Data compiled and published by Israel's own government makes clear that it has
01:15been starving Gaza. Between March and June, Israel allowed just 56,000 tons of food to enter the
01:22territory, Kogat records show less than a quarter of Gaza's minimum needs for that period. Even if every
01:29bag of UN flour had been collected and handed out, and the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation had developed safe
01:35systems for equitable distribution, starvation was inevitable. Palestinians did not have enough to eat.
01:41Share. 19 minutes ago. 10.14 BST. Israel imposed a total aid blockade for 11 weeks starting in March,
01:51ostensibly to put pressure on Hamas to release hostages. And the trickle of food, fuel and medical
01:57supplies allowed in since may has not relieved extreme hunger. Aid groups have said Israel's blockade
02:02of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip is the principal cause of the starvation crisis. When Israel allowed
02:09aid back in, it did so mostly under a contentious new aid delivery system run by the Israeli-backed
02:15logistics group, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. Israel says the new distribution system stops aid
02:22going to Hamas. At least 1,400 people have been killed while seeking aid since May 27, 2025, most of
02:30whom were killed near GHF sites, while other Palestinian people were killed along the routes of aid convoys,
02:36the UN has said 0.7 M ago. 10.25 BST. Israel has been widely accused of using food as a political
02:44weapon and of flagrantly breaking international law by collectively punishing the civilian population
02:50of Gaza by its aid blockade. Aid organizations were bringing somewhere between 500 and 600 trucks a day
02:56into Gaza during the ceasefire earlier this year, but now Israeli restrictions mean much less aid is
03:02being allowed into the territory. The Guardian's chief Middle East correspondent, Emma Graham Harrison,
03:08has broken down in great detail how Israel has deliberately caused a famine in Gaza.
03:13Here is an extract from her piece. The mathematics of famine are simple in Gaza.
03:18Palestinians cannot leave, war has ended farming, and Israel has banned fishing, so practically every
03:25calorie its population eats must be brought in from outside. Israel knows how much food is needed.
03:30It has been calibrating hunger in Gaza for decades, initially calculating shipments to exert pressure
03:36while avoiding starvation. The idea is to put the Palestinians on a diet, but not to make them die
03:42of hunger, a senior advisor to the then Prime Minister, Ehud Olmert, said in 2006. Data compiled and
03:49published by Israel's own government makes clear that it has been starving Gaza. Between March and June,
03:55Israel allowed just 56,000 tons of food to enter the territory, Kogat records show, less than a quarter
04:02of Gaza's minimum needs for that period. Even if every bag of UN flour had been collected and handed out,
04:09and the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation had developed safe systems for equitable distribution,
04:15starvation was inevitable. Palestinians did not have enough to eat. Share
04:19Nineteen minutes ago, 10.14 BST, Israel imposed a total aid blockade for 11 weeks starting in March,
04:28ostensibly to put pressure on Hamas to release hostages, and the trickle of food, fuel and medical
04:34supplies allowed in since May has not relieved extreme hunger. Aid groups have said Israel's blockade
04:39of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip is the principal cause of the starvation crisis.
04:45When Israel allowed aid back in, it did so mostly under a contentious new aid delivery system run by
04:52the Israeli-backed logistics group, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. Israel says the new
04:57distribution system stops aid going to Hamas. At least 1,400 people have been killed while seeking
05:04aid since May 27, 2025, most of whom were killed near GHF sites, while other Palestinian people were killed
05:12along the routes of aid convoys, the UN has said.
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