The Government Media Office (GMO) in Gaza has announced that the death toll from starvation and malnutrition imposed by the ongoing Israeli siege has risen to 57, with the overwhelming majority of victims being children, the elderly, and chronically ill patients.

In a statement released Saturday, the GMO warned that the humanitarian toll is expected to rise sharply in the coming days due to Israel’s continued closure of all border crossings for the 63rd consecutive day, preventing the entry of food, infant formula, and medical supplies to over 2.4 million besieged civilians.

“This is a deliberate and systematic policy aimed at starving an entire population,” the statement read. “The Israeli occupation is using hunger as a weapon of war against innocent civilians, in flagrant violation of international law.”

The GMO called on the international community, humanitarian organizations, and human rights institutions to take urgent and effective action to force the opening of the Rafah crossing and all other routes to ensure the immediate delivery of food, water, and life-saving medical aid.

In an earlier report, the GMO accused the Israeli regime of intentionally limiting the number of aid trucks entering the Strip, saying such practices constitute a war crime and a blatant violation of the right to food, which is protected under international humanitarian law.

“Starvation as a method of warfare is explicitly prohibited, yet the occupation continues to enforce a policy of collective punishment, with full impunity,” the statement asserted. The GMO held Israel fully responsible for the deaths resulting from hunger and called for international legal accountability for those orchestrating and executing these crimes.

The escalating starvation crisis comes against the backdrop of an unrelenting genocidal assault on Gaza, launched by the Israeli occupation on October 7, 2023, and now ongoing for nearly 19 months. With full backing from the United States, Israel has left more than 170,000 Palestinians dead or wounded, the majority of them women and children, and over 11,000 missing, many buried under the rubble of their homes.

As Gaza plunges deeper into a man-made famine, the Government Media Office warned that without immediate international intervention, the death toll will continue to climb in what is shaping up to be one of the most horrific humanitarian catastrophes of the 21st century. (ILKHA)