Borrell: Using starvation as a weapon of war is immoral

As Israel continues its attacks in Gaza, Palestinian civilians are struggling immensely to access food and medicine.

Having taken control of the Rafah Border Crossing following ceasefire negotiations, Israel is condemning the civilian population in the region to starvation.

The blockade imposed by the Tel Aviv administration on Palestine has also drawn a reaction from Josep Borrell, the European Union (EU) High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy.

In an op-ed regarding developments in Gaza and the Middle East, published on the English-language website The National, based in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Borrell warned that Gaza is on the brink of an abyss and continued as follows:

"THIS MUST BE BROUGHT TO AN END"

Israel's disproportionate response in Gaza has led to the deaths of more than 34,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children, and has condemned 2.3 million people to starvation, dragging the region into the worst cycle of violence in decades and causing unprecedented human suffering and destruction. This must be brought to an end.

Stating that further escalation of tension in the region is in no one's interest, Borrell used the expression, "This will help neither the release of the hostages nor the feeding of the starving Gazans."

Emphasizing that the Gaza Strip has "become largely uninhabitable," Borrell made the following assessment regarding the situation in the region:

People are living under plastic sheets, without water, electricity, or anesthesia during surgeries. Only a few hospitals are still operating. Using starvation as a weapon of war while food piles up at the border just a few kilometers away is a crime and completely immoral.