In the aftermath of the October 7, 2023 attacks by Hamas, Israel launched a massive and indiscriminate military campaign against Gaza. In addition to airstrikes and ground offensives, Israeli leaders openly declared their intent to impose a total siege on Gaza, cutting off food, fuel, medicine, and other vital supplies. This marks not only a military escalation but also the use of starvation and deprivation as deliberate tools of warfare, a tactic aimed not just at dismantling Hamas but at demoralizing the civilian population and undermining the broader Palestinian quest for statehood.
The idea of depriving civilians of basic necessities as a war tactic is not new. Long before the establishment of international humanitarian norms, total wars in the 20th century involved strategies that made little or no distinction between combatants and civilians. During the First and Second World Wars, for example, naval blockades by Britain and hunger blockades by Germany were employed as cost-effective ways to bring adversaries to their knees. Weakening civilian morale was seen as a legitimate path to military victory.
However, the post-World War era saw the rise of human rights and humanitarian law. Instruments like the Geneva Conventions of 1949 and the additional protocols of 1977 were created to set limits on how wars are conducted, aiming to protect civilian populations even amid conflict. Yet, these norms are frequently violated. In interstate wars and civil conflicts alike, starvation as a weapon persists. The United States used such strategies in Vietnam. In Sudan’s civil war, warring factions have regularly resorted to starving civilians to break the opposition’s resolve.
Israel’s actions in Gaza reflect a similar pattern, albeit in a modern and highly scrutinized context. The Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) have repeatedly obstructed the delivery of humanitarian aid, exacerbating famine-like conditions in the enclave. Organizations like Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) have raised alarms over rising malnutrition, especially among children and the elderly. In its July 2025 report, the World Food Programme (WFP) warned that one in three Gazans go without food for days, and nearly 90,000 women and children require urgent medical care.
Despite the availability of essential supplies such as food, water, shelter items, and fuel outside Gaza, these remain largely inaccessible to those inside due to Israeli restrictions. Occasionally, a small number of aid trucks are allowed through—more symbolic than sufficient—failing to meet the dire and growing needs of Gaza's population. The situation is further aggravated by incidents where Israeli forces reportedly fired on civilians gathering to receive aid. These have been grimly dubbed “flour massacres.”
Israel’s policy of siege, despite growing international condemnation, is shielded by the unwavering support of powerful allies, most notably the United States. The U.S. has even gone so far as to impose sanctions on International Criminal Court (ICC) judges who have taken up cases against Israeli actions. Without the enforcement power of major states, international law remains toothless. Israel, like others before it, can deflect responsibility by blaming militant groups for provoking harsh responses or by claiming unintended consequences.
Nonetheless, the intent behind Israel’s approach is evident in its leadership's own words. The strategy to isolate and starve Gaza is not just a side effect of war but a core element of its conduct—weaponizing humanitarian catastrophe to achieve political and military ends. This raises urgent questions not only about the future of Gaza but also about the global community’s capacity to uphold the norms it claims to defend.
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*Senior Lecturer, Department of Political Science, SVM Autonomous College, Jagatsinghpur, Odisha
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