Xinhua Commentary: Gaza's deepening humanitarian crisis calls for immediate ceasefire

The scenes unfolding in Gaza -- families risking their lives for a bag of flour, children going to bed hungry night after night -- reflect a failure to uphold the most basic standards of international humanitarian law.

BEIJING, July 26 (Xinhua) -- Though Israeli airstrikes on Gaza continue to capture global attention after hundreds of days, an equally devastating crisis has been unfolding with far less notice: deepening hunger. Beyond the destruction by bombs, Palestinians are dying quietly from a lack of food.

The persistent threat of starvation, repeatedly warned of by the United Nations, underscores the urgent need for a complete and immediate ceasefire in Gaza. Without a halt to the fighting, the suffering will only deepen, and meaningful relief efforts cannot begin.

This humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza is not the result of a natural disaster, but of sustained hostilities and severe restrictions that have blocked humanitarian aid and denied civilians access to basic necessities. Such continued obstruction of humanitarian relief and the targeting of civilians near food distribution sites violate basic norms of humanity. They must be stopped.

The right to food and humanitarian assistance is protected by international law. Yet in Gaza, this right is being denied. According to UN reports, humanitarian organizations have for months been able to bring into Gaza only limited quantities of aid. All UN-supported bakeries remain closed. Prices have skyrocketed for the food items that remain available in markets. Nearly one person in three goes entire days without eating.

To survive, people have been forced to resort to increasingly desperate and undignified coping strategies ranging from fasting to reducing meal size, rationing bread for children, borrowing, begging and scavenging for food from garbage, a UN report said in July.

Adding to the horror are the repeated deadly attacks near aid distribution centers in Gaza. Currently, aid distribution is managed by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), backed by the United States and Israel, all located inside restricted Israeli military zones.

Since the GHF started operating in Gaza in late May, there have been hundreds of reports of Israeli forces killing people seeking aid at these sites. While Israel has denied that its soldiers deliberately shot at aid recipients, more than 170 charities and NGOs recently called for the GHF to be shut down for violating all norms of humanitarian work.

The scenes unfolding in Gaza -- families risking their lives for a bag of flour, children going to bed hungry night after night -- reflect a failure to uphold the most basic standards of international humanitarian law.

The international community has a clear responsibility to facilitate the immediate and unhindered flow of humanitarian aid, ensure the protection of civilians, and support diplomatic efforts that can de-escalate the situation without further delay.

The world cannot look away. Every day that passes without action deepens the suffering. The top priority is to end the violence, alleviate the humanitarian crisis, and restore a sense of dignity and hope to Gaza's people. ■