Summarize this content to 2000 words in 6 paragraphs Israel’s allies have condemned a comment by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich calling the starvation of Palestinians in Gaza “just and moral” given the fact that some hostages still remain in Hamas’ captivity.Smotrich, a far-right figure in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government, said in a speech on Monday that Israel must send humanitarian aid into Gaza, which has been in ruins amid the Israel-Hamas war.”It’s not possible in today’s global reality to manage a war—no one will allow us to starve 2 million people, even though that might be just and moral until they return the hostages,” he said at the Katif Annual Conference.Newsweek reached out to Israel’s foreign ministry via email and Netanyahu’s office via online form for comment on Thursday afternoon.On October 7, 2023, Hamas led the deadliest Palestinian militant attack in Israel’s history, killing some 1,200 people and taking around 250 people hostage, of which some 110 people remain in Gaza. Israel subsequently launched a military operation in Gaza, which has killed almost 40,000 Palestinians so far, according to the local health ministry.
Displaced Palestinian children queue to for food distributed by aid organizations in Beit Lahia, Gaza. Israel’s allies have condemned Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich for calling the starvation of Palestinians “just and moral.”
Displaced Palestinian children queue to for food distributed by aid organizations in Beit Lahia, Gaza. Israel’s allies have condemned Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich for calling the starvation of Palestinians “just and moral.”
Abood Abusalama/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images
The European Union (EU) condemned Smotrich’s comments, writing in a statement released on Thursday that “deliberate starvation of civilians is a war crime.””We expect the Israeli government to unequivocally distance itself from the words of Minister Smotrich, as well as to establish transparency on the reported acts of torture in the Sde Teiman prison,” the EU added.In June, The New York Times reported on a visit to part of Israel’s Sde Teiman military base, which has been used to detain Gazan Palestinians. Former detainees described beatings and other abuse at the base in interviews with the Times.The International Criminal Court (ICC) is seeking arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity for the October 7th attack and Irsael’s military operation in Gaza.David Lammy, Britain’s foreign secretary, wrote on X, formerly Twitter, on Wednesday, “International law could not be more clear—the deliberate starvation of civilians is a war crime. There can be no justification for Minister Smotrich’s remarks and we expect the wider Israeli government to retract and condemn them.”International law could not be more clear – the deliberate starvation of civilians is a war crime. There can be no justification for Minister Smotrich’s remarks and we expect the wider Israeli government to retract and condemn them.— David Lammy (@DavidLammy) August 7, 2024
Steffen Siebert, Germany’s ambassador to Israel, wrote on X, on Wednesday: “The German government strongly rejects Minister Smotrich’s unacceptable and appalling remarks,” adding, “It is a principle of international law and of humanity to protect civilians in a war and to give them access to water and food.”The German government strongly rejects Minister Smotrich’s unacceptable and appalling remarks that it might be „moral to let Gazans die of hunger”. It is a principle of international law and of humanity to protect civilians in a war and to give them access to water and food.— Steffen Seibert (@GerAmbTLV) August 7, 2024
The Egyptian foreign ministry also condemned Smotrich’s comments, writing in a statement released on Thursday: “Egypt considers such shameful statements to be unacceptable both in form and substance, representing a clear violation of international humanitarian law and the four Geneva Conventions.””Egypt views these irresponsible statements as incitement against the residents of the Gaza Strip and an ongoing evasion of the interim measures demanded by the International Court of Justice regarding Israel,” the statement continued.The vast majority of Gazans have been displaced, often multiple times, within the region and hundreds of thousands of them are packed into tent camps filled with filth and disease.The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, the leading international authority on the severity of hunger crises, said in June that Gaza was at “high risk” of famine and that about 495,000 people in Gaza (22 percent of the population) are “experiencing an extreme lack of food.” Netanyahu has denied that Israel is using starvation as a war tactic.Aid organizations have tried to deliver food and other assistance, but they claim their efforts have been hindered by Israeli restrictions and other barriers in the region from the ongoing war.Israel claims it allows unlimited humanitarian aid to enter Gaza and blames the agencies within the United Nations tasked with delivering the aid for failing to do so promptly.
