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Palestinian Arabs

Weaponized Starvation in Gaza: A Genocidal Crime Paralleling Imperial and Colonial Acts

Strategic Insights

— 2 min read

Mass starvation, first planned by Israel almost two decades ago, has been instrumental in the ethnic cleansing and genocidal atrocities in Gaza. This weaponized famine is akin to Imperial Britain's hunger experiments in India and the Nazi concentration camps, as evidenced by empirical historical evidence. The Israeli blockade, launched in 2006 after Hamas' Palestinian election win, aimed to push the Gazan economy "to the brink of collapse." The average daily calorie intake required for survival is estimated at 2,100 kilocalories (kcal) per day. The Israeli "Red Line" document, however, used a higher calculation of 2,279 calories per person, considering domestic food production in Gaza.

Key Takeaways:

  • The Israeli blockade, launched in 2006, was designed to push the Gazan economy "to the brink of collapse," according to a US diplomatic cable released by WikiLeaks.
  • The average daily calorie intake required for survival is estimated at 2,100 kcal per day, whereas the Israeli "Red Line" document calculated a higher figure of 2,279 calories per person.
  • Similar to the British Famine Commissioner Sir Richard Temple's human experiments in southern India (1876), the Israeli cabinet aimed to put Palestinians "on a diet, but not to make them die of hunger."
  • The Gaza Strip's siege has affinities with the siege of Leningrad and its 3.1 million people during World War II.
  • The original Israeli "Generals' Plan" aimed to block food supplies and epidemics, but its partial execution drove the Strip to risk of famine as early as fall 2024.
  • Top UN officials described the situation in northern Gaza as "apocalyptic" in 2024, with everyone at imminent risk of dying from disease, famine, and violence.
  • The watchdog of the International Community remained silent in the face of this human tragedy as a result of US-led policy and the EU's willful complicity in the crimes against the people of Gaza.

Statistics:

  • Average daily calorie intake required for survival: 2,100 kcal per day (estimated)
  • Israeli "Red Line" document calculation: 2,279 calories per person
  • Population of Gaza: 2.3 million
  • Population of Leningrad (St. Petersburg) during the Nazi siege (1941-1944): 2.4 million
  • Daily calorie intake in the Warsaw Ghetto hunger study (1942): 180 calories per prisoner
  • Daily calorie intake in the Nazi camps over eight decades ago: 700-860 kcal
  • Daily calorie intake in northern Gaza in the first half of 2024: 245 kcal

Sources:

  • "The Obliteration Doctrine" by Dr. Daniel Steinbock (book)
  • US diplomatic cable released by WikiLeaks (2006)
  • FAO (UN, 2023) - Daily Calorie Intake in Extreme Situations: Selected Examples
  • Oxfam (report)
  • Al Jazeera
  • TRT World
  • The New York Post (headline)
  • United Nations Security Council Resolution 2417 (2018)

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