Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant announced a “complete siege” of the Gaza Strip, an area of around 365 square kilometers that is home to 2.3 million Palestinians and has been under an Israeli-led blockade since 2007. “I have ordered a complete siege on the Gaza Strip. There will be no electricity, no food, no fuel, everything is closed,” Gallant remarked. “We are fighting human animals and we are acting accordingly,” he added.
Omar Shakir, Israel and Palestine director at Human Rights Watch, described Gallant’s statements as “abhorrent” in a statement on October 9, 2023.
“Depriving the population in an occupied territory of food and electricity is collective punishment, which is a war crime, as is using starvation as a weapon of war,” Shakir continued. “The International Criminal Court should take note of this call to commit a war crime.”
The Israeli military reported that its air force has dropped 2,000 munitions and more than 1,000 tons of bombs on Gaza over the last 20 hours, striking 20 high-rise residential buildings, mosques, hospitals, banks, and various other civilian sites on Oct 9, 2023.
At least 500 Palestinians have been killed between Oct 7-9 in the ongoing raids, including 91 children. Another 2,700 people have been wounded.
Sources: Middle East Eye – Huffpost