Israel Accused of Using Starvation as a Weapon in Gaza, Says El País
Spanish newspaper slams Netanyahu's policies as ethnic cleansing by hunger, urges global action amid growing famine and death toll in Gaza.
Watan-In a scathing editorial titled “Killing Also by Starvation in Gaza,” published Saturday, El País spotlighted Israel’s use of hunger as a weapon to kill Palestinians, calling for immediate international action.
The paper points out that “among the terrifying number of over 53,000 people killed in Gaza by the Israeli military, a new and more horrifying statistic is emerging: deaths by starvation.” At least 57 children have died of famine in the past two months, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
The organization estimates that about 71,000 children under the age of five are at risk of severe malnutrition in the coming weeks, as Israel continues to block most humanitarian aid at the border. Alongside images of destruction, death, and despair that Gaza has broadcast to the world for the past year and a half, there are now scenes of desperate children lining up in hunger queues. WHO warns that the impact on an entire generation of Palestinian children’s health will be permanent, even if immediate aid is provided.
The paper stresses that famine is looming, compounded by escalating punitive measures against Gaza’s population. Israel killed more than 80 people in airstrikes last Wednesday and over 100 on Thursday—one of the targets was a hospital.
When Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared an end to the ceasefire with Hamas on March 18, El País writes, “he not only crushed hopes for peace but also embarrassed U.S. and Qatari mediators, and betrayed the families of the hostages held by Hamas.”
At the beginning of May, Netanyahu formally declared his real objective: occupying Gaza and annexing parts of its land—an open defiance of international law. “To achieve this,” the editorial argues, “he must confront the presence of two million people. Thus, the military campaign in Gaza has turned into a large-scale ethnic cleansing operation through war crimes, including indiscriminate bombing of civilians and deprivation of food and water.”
The editorial also highlights the growing legal and political relevance of labeling Israel a “genocidal state.” Even if the term remains legally debated, it has become increasingly applicable. “If this is not genocide yet, the risk of it becoming one is very clear. And Netanyahu is laying the groundwork for it,” the paper warns.
El País ends with a direct appeal to the international community: “Governments must begin addressing the Israeli Prime Minister in terms that reflect the gravity of his crimes.” French President Emmanuel Macron recently warned that remaining silent on Gaza undermines Europe’s credibility regarding Ukraine.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez is working to form a diplomatic front to demand an end to the humanitarian siege. Even U.S. President Donald Trump—who initially encouraged Netanyahu’s militarism and joked about turning Gaza into a resort—seems shaken by reports of starvation in the Strip.
He concluded his latest Middle East tour without visiting Israel. While trust in him remains low, his apparent reluctance to be seen as complicit in this disaster offers a faint glimmer of hope. “Perhaps,” the paper writes, “he has begun to realize that Netanyahu does not intend to stop this war.”
