THE Palestinian Centre for Human Rights stated yesterday that the Israeli occupation army’s targeting of the World Central Kitchen team in southern Gaza is a continuation of the starvation policy pursued by Israel as part of the genocidal war against the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
In a statement on Saturday, the centre condemned in the strongest terms the bombing of a vehicle belonging to the World Central Kitchen organisation in Khan Younis, which resulted in the martyrdom of five Palestinians, including three workers for the World Kitchen. Following the bombing, the World Kitchen announced the suspension of its operations in Gaza.
This marks the second time that the occupation forces have targeted the World Central Kitchen team.
The centre expressed concerns that the bombing is part of the Israeli occupation’s strategy to institutionalise starvation and impose restrictions on the delivery of aid and food supplies, including limiting the work of international relief organisations, furthering the genocide against the Palestinian people.
In the aftermath of the bombing, the World Central Kitchen announced the suspension of its activities in Gaza, stating: ‘We regret to share that a vehicle carrying colleagues from the World Central Kitchen was subjected to an Israeli airstrike in Gaza.’
It warned that due to the flour shortage and its non-distribution, thousands are gathering near the few bakeries that remain operational. The centre reported that this crowding and pushing resulted in the death of a woman and two children on the morning of November 29, 2024, due to suffocation amid the congestion and crowding of thousands of citizens outside the al-Banna automated bakery, supported by the World Food Programme on Akila Street in Deir al-Balah, in the central governorate, as they sought to obtain a loaf of bread. Several others also suffered from severe suffocation.
The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights warned that the suspension of the World Central Kitchen’s operations would deprive thousands of families who relied on its meals, exacerbating the hunger crisis.
It pointed out that the occupation army prevents the entry of food supplies in sufficient quantities, and even when limited amounts do enter, it provides protection to groups of thieves who steal and resell them at inflated prices. If limited quantities enter, UNRWA is prevented from distributing them to those in need, and if they are stored, they are bombed, with workers from international organisations securing food supplies being targeted. This reflects the complex mentality of the occupation, which uses starvation as part of the genocide.
The centre confirmed that the continuation of such disgraceful attacks is a natural result of the impunity enjoyed by Israel and the double standards applied by the international community towards the Israeli occupation, which overlooks the most serious crime committed by the occupation: Genocide.
The head of the Kiryat Arba settlement in al-Khalil mentioned settlement celebrations that took place last Saturday inside the Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron with the participation of thousands of settlers, which witnessed a significant political presence, including ministers and Knesset members such as Itamar Ben Gvir, Bezalel Smotrich, and Orit Strock. Changing the status quo in the mosque was the central theme during those celebrations.
Knesset member Avichai Boaron from Netanyahu’s Likud party affirmed that Trump’s election represents a favourable opportunity to seize the Ibrahimi Mosque from the control of Islamic endowments, stressing the need to transform it into a modern place of prayer to solve current overcrowding issues.
The ‘Zman Israel’ report highlighted Bezalel Smotrich’s vision, supported by Boaron and Sukkot, which considers 2025 as the year to implement the annexation plan and impose Israeli sovereignty over the West Bank, indicating that the plan classifies the Ibrahimi Mosque as a pivotal site.
The report stated that one of the American figures supporting this project, Mike Huckabee, who will take on the role of US ambassador to Israel early next year, supports the ‘biblical vision’ for complete control over historic Palestine.
Meanwhile, the director of Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza Strip, Hossam Abu Safiya said on Wednesday evening that the vicinity of the hospital has been witnessing the fiercest Israeli aggression since the start of the last Jabalia invasion.
This means that workers in the UK, the EU and the USA must make their trade unions take general strike action to bring their governments down and go forward to Workers Governments which will take action to liberate Palestine and establish its state ‘from the river to the sea’.