GAZA (Palestine Foundation Information Center) Lima Bastami, director of the legal department at the Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor, has stated that life in the Gaza Strip has been reduced to a terrifying and inescapable cycle of death. It begins with the deliberate bombing of civilian gatherings, where the wounded bleed to death, patients face their fate alone amid the collapse of the health system, and the missing remain trapped beneath the rubble.
In a statement released on Friday, Bastami explained that survivors are forced into tents devoid of the most basic means of survival, only to then find the siege tightening further through systematic starvation. Those who attempt to reach aid distribution points are met with bullets and shellfire.
She added that this horrific and calculated sequence—combining starvation, systematic deprivation of survival necessities, and direct killing from every angle—demonstrates Israel’s intent to destroy Gaza’s civilian population, either partially or completely. This, she stressed, fulfills the legal definition of the crime of genocide.
Bastami warned that the continuation of Israel’s genocidal campaign, amidst the international community’s paralysis, effectively closes the circle of justice for the entire world—just as the circle of death has closed in on Gaza’s population.
She emphasized that all states must act immediately to halt the ongoing crime in Gaza, hold the perpetrators accountable, and salvage what remains of the legitimacy of the international legal system.
Bastami called on the international community to impose sanctions on Israel for its systematic and grave violations of international law. These should include a total ban on weapons exports to Israel and the immediate suspension of all forms of political, financial, military, intelligence, and security support provided to it.
In its official statement, the Euro-Med Monitor noted that Israel has escalated its mass killing in the Gaza Strip amid a complete absence of accountability and a noticeable decline in global media coverage. It warned of an intensifying genocidal campaign against Gaza’s civilians, particularly through the increased use of mass-killing tactics.
The organization added that this escalation is occurring in the complete absence of international deterrence or consequences and at a time when global attention is distracted by Israel’s ongoing military confrontation with Iran.
It continued, “In the past four days alone, we have documented the killing of over 350 Palestinians and the injury of hundreds more, with the number of missing persons continuing to rise due to the scale of Israeli attacks.”
The Monitor also reported that more than 70 Palestinians were killed between dawn and the afternoon hours of Friday alone—nearly half of them while they were either waiting for or attempting to access food aid. This, it stressed, is yet further proof of Israel’s deliberate use of starvation as a weapon of genocide.
