Amnesty International has accused Israel of engaging in what it calls a calculated campaign of starvation in the Gaza Strip, escalating international scrutiny over humanitarian conditions in the territory now battered by nearly two years of conflict.
According to a newly released report, the rights group claims Israeli authorities have deliberately restricted food and medical aid from reaching civilians, creating conditions that threaten the survival of the Palestinian population. The investigation includes testimonies from displaced families living in improvised camps as well as doctors treating children for severe malnutrition in Gaza City.
Amnesty characterizes Israel’s approach as a systemic attempt to erode not just physical health but the broader fabric of Palestinian life. The organization alleges that the deprivation is not an unintended byproduct of war but the intended result of state policy designed to impose unbearable living conditions.
Israel has consistently rejected similar accusations, maintaining that claims of mass hunger in Gaza are exaggerated or politically motivated. The Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), the branch of Israel’s defense ministry responsible for civil affairs in the occupied territories, has previously dismissed reports of famine and questioned data released by health officials in Gaza.
This latest report follows earlier charges by Amnesty in April, where it described Israel’s military operations and forced displacements in Gaza as a “live-streamed genocide.” Israeli authorities at the time called those allegations “baseless lies.”
The new claims add further pressure on Israel as the United Nations and international relief agencies continue to warn of worsening hunger and the risk of full-scale famine in the besieged enclave. Whether the allegations shift diplomatic or military policy remains uncertain, but the humanitarian crisis in Gaza shows little sign of easing.
