Geneva-based Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor on Wednesday night said at least 26 people, including nine children, died within 24 hours due to what it described as deliberate starvation policies and denial of medical treatment. The group attributed the rising death toll to Israel’s continued blockade and military campaign in Gaza, now entering its 19th consecutive month.
Deaths among elderly Palestinians, children, and chronically ill patients have surged in the Gaza Strip amid severe shortages of food, medicine, and healthcare, according to the group.
Israel has maintained a blockade on Gaza for over a decade, and tightened restrictions significantly since October 2023. According to Euro-Med Monitor, those measures have intensified since March 2, resulting in what it calls a “man-made humanitarian catastrophe.”
“The deliberate targeting of civilians through starvation and healthcare deprivation constitutes a crime under international law,” the organisation said, warning that the actions may amount to war crimes and genocide under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC).
The group said that the healthcare system in Gaza has effectively collapsed, with major hospitals such as Gaza European Hospital in the south and the Indonesian Hospital in the north forced to shut down. Remaining facilities are struggling to operate under extreme shortages and ongoing bombardments, it said.
Testimonies collected by the rights group highlighted the suffering of displaced civilians. Abdel Salam Qudeih, 76, from Khan Younis, said he walked for hours without food or medication after receiving Israeli evacuation orders. Another elderly resident, artist Samir al-Kabariti, told the group, “I haven’t eaten for two or three days. I just want a piece of bread.”
Widad al-Sumairi, 73, who fled with her family from the town of Al-Qarara, said the children in her care were dehydrated and malnourished. “The displacement made our suffering worse. Why are we starving and displaced again and again?” she said.
The United Nations has described the humanitarian situation in Gaza as catastrophic. On a recent day, only five aid trucks reportedly entered Gaza, and there was no confirmation that the limited supplies, including nutritional supplements and burial shrouds, reached the civilian population. A UN official called the aid “a drop in the ocean.”
Euro-Med Monitor also alleged that many deaths caused by hunger and lack of care are not accurately recorded. “Due to the absence of an effective monitoring system, many deaths are officially logged as resulting from ‘natural causes,’” the report said.
The group called for urgent international action, including the imposition of sanctions, an arms embargo, and prosecution of Israeli officials allegedly involved in violations. It also urged the International Criminal Court to expedite its investigations and issue arrest warrants.
The Israeli-Palestinian conflict has entered one of its deadliest phases in recent memory. More than two million people in Gaza are facing severe food insecurity, with aid organisations warning of famine-like conditions.
While Israel has repeatedly said it allows humanitarian aid into Gaza, rights groups and international agencies argue that the current delivery mechanisms are insufficient and that widespread destruction and restrictions have rendered aid efforts largely ineffective.
Euro-Med Monitor concluded by calling on the international community to “act urgently to halt the genocide,” and to ensure the protection of Palestinian civilians through the immediate lifting of the blockade and restoration of essential services.
