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Secretary-General of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, Jagan Chapagain, said that the risk of hunger in Gaza is increasing day by day, in light of a sharp decline in food security, and a decrease in the volume of aid provided to the residents of the Strip by half in the current month of February, compared to the previous month, according to According to United Nations data.

In a post on his account on the X platform, Chapagin warned that about 80% of Gaza’s population are already facing emergency or catastrophic conditions of food insecurity.

He pointed out that more than a million children and elderly people in shelter centers face the risk of dehydration, digestive and respiratory diseases, skin diseases and anemia, according to reports from the Palestinian Red Crescent.

He renewed his call for safe and unimpeded access to vital life-saving humanitarian aid.

Since October 7, 2023, Israel has been waging a devastating war on the Gaza Strip, leaving about 30,000 martyrs, most of them children and women.

Health care has largely collapsed, and many people are living in tents or on the streets.

The volume of aid provided to the suffering population in the Gaza Strip decreased by half this month of February, compared to the previous month, according to United Nations data, which confirmed that the Gaza Strip received an average of 98 trucks loaded with aid supplies each during this month.

 “Aid was supposed to increase, not decrease, to meet the huge needs of two million Palestinians in miserable living conditions,” Philippe Lazzarini, Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), said on the X platform. “Among the obstacles are the lack of political will, the closure Regular crossings, insecurity due to military operations, and the collapse of civil order.”

He stressed that a ceasefire and lifting the siege on the Gaza Strip are necessary to allow the delivery of life-saving aid and the commercial movement of goods.

Israel does not comply

On the other hand, Human Rights Watch said that Israel did not comply with at least one measure in the legally binding order issued by the International Court of Justice in the genocide case brought by South Africa.

The organization added in a statement, "After a month, Israel continues to obstruct the provision of basic services and the entry and distribution of fuel and life-saving aid into Gaza. These are acts of collective punishment that amount to war crimes, and include the use of starvation of civilians as a weapon of war."

She noted that fewer trucks entered Gaza, and fewer relief missions were allowed to reach northern Gaza in the several weeks following the ruling compared to the weeks before it.

She continued, "Israel is starving 2.3 million Palestinians in Gaza, exposing them to greater danger than they were exposed to before the binding International Court of Justice order. This means that the Israeli government has ignored the court's ruling, and in some ways intensified its repression by preventing life-saving aid."

Human Rights Watch explained that other countries should use all forms of influence, including sanctions and embargoes, to pressure the occupation government to comply with binding court orders in the genocide case.

On January 26, the International Court of Justice ordered the Israeli occupation to “take immediate and effective measures to allow the provision of basic services and humanitarian aid,” and to submit a report to it regarding its compliance with implementing the specified measures “within a month.”

Source: Al Jazeera + agencies