As of mid-2025, the United Nations and multiple international aid organisations have issued urgent warnings of famine in parts of Gaza, with children and vulnerable populations already dying of hunger-related causes. These conditions are not merely a byproduct of war, they are the result of deliberate policy by the Israeli government â an engineered famine. This raises profound ethical, legal, and political questions about the use of starvation as a weapon of war. Gaza has been under a blockade by Israel since 2007. Following October the 7th, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant called for a âcomplete siege,â explicitly stating: âNo electricity, no food, no water, no fuel.â Under international humanitarian law, starvation of civilians as a method of warfare is a war crime. The Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court explicitly defines this act as a war crime when done âintentionally.â Multiple UN experts, including the Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food, have accused Israel of using starvation as a weapon and called for accountability. Israel denies that it is intentionally starving Gaza, arguing that Hamas diverts aid and steals food. However, this claim is challenged by the scale of suffering and the consistent obstruction of aid efforts, as reported by UN agencies, NGOs, Doctors, and Medics. According to reports from the World Food Programme (WFP) and UNICEF, almost the entire population of Gaza is now food insecure, with the northern region already experiencing famine conditions. Infants have died from malnutrition and dehydration.
In response, environmental and human rights activist Greta Thunberg joined a civilian-led humanitarian flotilla (Madleen) sailing to Gaza in an attempt to break the siege, a bold act of solidarity and moral resistance. Thunbergâs decision to join is an echo of past efforts to break the blockade, not with weapons or violence, but with moral pressure. The flotilla, carrying critical medical supplies, food, water filters, and activists from around the world, is a direct challenge to Israelâs siege. This is not the first time civilians have attempted to break the Gaza blockade by sea. In 2010, the Mavi Marmara humanitarian flotilla was intercepted by Israeli forces, resulting in the deaths of nine activists. Prominent right-wing politicians and media figures in Israel and the United States have openly wished harm and even death upon Thunberg, calling her a âterrorist sympathiser,â and an âantisemiteâ. Some have even suggested that the Madleen flotilla be intercepted with violence. Such rhetoric is not only abhorrent, it signals a deeper and more disturbing political transformation, i.e., the normalisation of fascist rhetoric, authoritarian tactics, and dehumanisation of dissenters.
Unfortunately, we regret to report that the Madleen flotilla was not able to deliver aid and food to thousands of starving Gazans â men, women, and children â the elderly, disabled, mentally impaired, and the injured. Israeli forces seized the flotilla at 3:00 a.m. local time, and all members onboard the Madleen were detained. This expedition by Thunberg and her colleagues will forever be remembered as a shining light of the most noble kind in very dark times. Greta Thundergâs bravery, humility, and maturity puts to shame many leaders across the globe, from Arabia to Europe, and in the United States. Leaders who could end Israel’s barbaric starvation campaign with the stroke of their pens, but choose not to â senators and ministers who have exchanged their morality and ethics for money and self-aggrandising campaigns. The world deserves better leaders.