Gaza: Palestinians face 'gruelling fate of starvation'

“It is unconscionable that this man-made situation will see Palestinians across Gaza – many of whom are already skin and bones – face the gruelling fate of slow, painful starvation and the shadow of death from hunger.

“For more than a year and a half, we have witnessed the spread of starvation across Gaza, which has accelerated since the Israeli Government’s block on aid, a siege that has been going on for over two months now. The trauma of watching family members and friends get thinner and weaker is haunting. Mothers are bringing babies weighing as little as 2kg to our clinic: children, the sick and the elderly are suffering the most. Meanwhile, supplies that could be used to treat them sit just a few kilometres away at the border, blocked.

"After more than 18 months of ever-deepening suffering in Gaza and two months of total siege we urge the international community to exhaust every effort to secure an immediate and lasting ceasefire and a return of the hostages. To prevent continued starvation and further death, Israel must allow humanitarian aid to flow at scale, safely and unhindered into and throughout Gaza.”

“The ongoing Israeli blockade of Gaza is shameful. The UK cannot stand by and watch as people starve – Palestinians are already dying daily from hunger as food rots in warehouses just over the border. This cruelty cannot and must not continue – neither should the UK’s support. The UK Government must now stop all arms sales to Israel. How long must Palestinians wait for Governments like the UK to stop fuelling this war?”