Gaza who is subjected to forced hunger, Top UN officer tells BBC

The UN humanitarian chief has said that people in Gaza are subjected to forced hunger by Israel.

In an interview with the BBC, Tom Fletcher said that he believed that this had led to a change in the international reaction to Gaza.

Asked if his assessment of forced hunger amounted to a war crime, he said: “Yes, it is. It is classified as a war crime. Of course, these are issues for the courts to take the judgment and ultimately for the history to judge.”

Mr Fletcher also regretted that he recently said that 14,000 babies could die in Gaza within 48 hours if the help was not allowed – a claim that the UN withdrew later – and acknowledged that the need was “accurate” with language.

Israel began to allow limited help to Gaza last week, after a blockage of almost three months had stopped supplying supplies such as food, medicines, fuel and shelter.

It also resumed its military offensive two weeks after the blockage is imposed, ending a two-month ceasefire with Hamas.

Israel said the steps were meant to put the armed group under pressure to release the 58 hostages that are still being held in Gaza, of whom at least 20 is supposed to live.

Since the relaxation of the blockade, chaos scenes have eliminated in Aid Distribution Centers by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation- a group supported by the US and Israeli.

The UN, who refuses to collaborate with the GHF, said 47 people were injured earlier this week After crowds, one of the centers overwhelmed.

Mr Fletcher said: “We see food at the borders and are not allowed when there is a population on the other side of the border that has been starved, and we hear Israeli ministers say that this should put pressure on the population of Gaza.”

He said that the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “absolutely” would reject an explanation from Minister of Finance Gezalel Smotrich – who had said that people in Gaza would “be completely desperately insight that there is no hope and nothing to look for”, and would like to move to start a “new life in other places”.

“We would expect that governments all over the world face international humanitarian law, the international community is very clear about that,” said Fletcher.

He called on Netanyahu to ensure that “this language, and ultimately, this policy … of forced relocation is not determined”.

Israel has confronted with growing international criticism of waging the war.

On Tuesday, the top diplomat of the EU, Kaja Kallas, said: “Israeli strikes in Gaza go beyond what is needed to fight Hamas.”

Her comments followed an intervention by the German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who stated that he no longer “understands Israel”.

Earlier this month, the Leaders of the UK, France and Canada The Israeli government called on “to stop its military operations” and “immediately allow humanitarian aid to enter Gaza”. In response, Netanyahu accused them of cleaning up with Hamas.

On May 14, Mr Fletcher called on the UN Security Council to act to prevent genocide in Gaza.

Asked why he had made that statement, he referred to reporting colleagues on site in Gaza.

“What they report is forced relocation. They report hunger, they report torture and they report deaths on a massive scale,” he said.

Fletcher said in the cases of Rwanda, Srebrenica and Sri Lanka: “The world had told us afterwards that we did not act on time, that we did not sound a warning”.

“And that is my call to the (U) Security Council and the world now:” Do you want to act to prevent genocide? ”

Mr Fletcher came to strong criticism from Israel after he claimed that 14,000 babies in Gaza would die in 48 hours if the aid was not allowed in the strip.

The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs accused Mr Fletcher of ignoring the atrocities of Hamas and to repeat their propaganda. “It’s not a humanitarian work, it’s blood libel,” the ministry said at the time.

Mr Fletcher said: “The moment I made those comments, we desperately tried to get that help.

“We were told that we could not get it, and we knew that we would probably have a few days, a window to get as much help as possible, and that was refused, and we were desperate to get that. And so yes, we must be completely accurate with our language, and we have clarified that.”

Asked for his claim – rejected by Israel – that thousands of trucks were waiting at the border to enter Gaza, the Lord Fletcher repeated that he had to be “careful and really accurate”.

He agreed that there was a risk to be seen to be too hype, but he added: “I am not going to stop speaking for the need to save these lives in Gaza, to save as many survivors as possible. That is my job, and I have to do it better, and I will do it.”

He said that mediation and negotiations was the way to resolve the crisis in Gaza and repeated his call to Hamas to release the Israeli hostages that are held by the militant group.

“We all want to see those hostages liberated and back with their families,” he said.

“I no longer know what the purpose of this war is. I think it clearly went further than just the hostages. There is a lot of talk about finishing Hamas.

“And clearly, as many people have said, there can be no part for Hamas in the new comparison, the new board of Gaza and the Palestinian territories.”

Fletcher rejected Israeli claiming that Hamas stealed large amounts of food aid.

“I don’t want to see that something of that help goes to Hamas. That is important for us because this is our principles, neutral, impartial, independent. It is in our interest to stop that help to come to Hamas and to ensure that it comes to citizens.”

“As a humanitarian, my interest is just to get as much of that help as possible, to save as quickly as possible, and to save as many lives as we are allowed to do in the time we have.”

Mr Fletcher also has to deal with crises in Ukraine, Sudan and Syria, among other things and said that the world was confronted with a “in -depth dangerous” moment.

“The Security Council is polarized, divided,” he said.

“That means it makes it much harder for us to put an end to conflicts; the conflicts we are dealing with are more furious, there is more impunity and they stay longer.

“It is becoming increasingly difficult to end wars and we Humanitarian … treat the consequences.”

Israel launched a military campaign in Gaza in response to the cross -border attack of Hamas on October 7, 2023, in which around 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were held hostage.

Since then, at least 54,249 people have been killed in Gaza, including 3,986 since Israel resumed his offensive, according to the Hamas-Runned Health Minister of the Territorium.

With additional reporting by Olivia Lace-Evans and Maarten Lernout.

The full interview by Mr Fletcher will be broadcast on the BBC news channel on Saturday at 00: 30bst and 16: 30bst.