Quantified Grief

Throughout history, starvation has been deliberately used as a weapon of war. From the Siege of Carthage during the Punic Wars to the German Siege of Leningrad, nations and their leaders have routinely exploited food as a tool to impose their will. The story is no different today as we witness Israel's continued blockade and starvation of the Gaza population. About 100,000 women and children suffer from acute malnutrition, and one third of the 2.1 million population is without food for days on end. More than 100 people have died while displaying signs of malnutrition. The continued land, air, and water blockade under which the self-proclaimed “Most Moral Army” has the Gaza population is not only morally reprehensible but a clear violation of international law. Article 54 of Additional Protocol I to the Geneva Conventions confirms the protection of objects indispensable to the survival of the civilian population. Forced hunger should not be utilized, under any circumstances, against a civilian population. No matter how tactically seductive it may appear, denying access to vital resources like food is indefensible, both morally and legally. Starvation gives rise to famine, which, if left untreated, leads to mass death and the potential eradication of the affected population: in this case, the Gazans. 

While the situation in Gaza has not officially been declared as a famine, it is not for lack of starvation or death; neither should we wait for the situation to be classified as one to express concern. The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) is the primary body responsible for collecting and analyzing data to determine famine conditions. Its findings serve as the official basis upon which the United Nations and governments formally declare a famine. But with Israel significantly restricting access to Gaza, it is difficult and, in some cases, impossible to gather data. The causes of death are also hard to isolate, as severe cases of malnutrition in children indicate both starvation and infection as causes of death. Physicians are deprived of guidelines on when to classify a death as solely caused by malnutrition, making it even more difficult to accurately state when a famine is occurring. To further exacerbate the issue, the war has made it difficult to gather accurate information. Israel and the Gaza Health Ministry have reported conflicting numbers of deaths throughout the war, and Israel's offensive has gutted Gaza’s health system, leading to the erosion of data and surveillance systems. 

Having accurate and complete information, while a prerequisite for the declaration of famine, is not a prerequisite for galvanizing the international community. Even in isolation, the devastation was staggering. But layered over that is something even more calculated: the weaponization of hunger. Starvation is being imposed, it seems, not to disable armed militia or trigger the end of the war, but to punish a civilian population. Our ethical and moral responsibilities should not be invoked through the use of official language. We should not let our concern for human suffering be reduced to numbers over which political leaders can’t even agree.  The quantification of death may serve as a metric for the UN to guide their aid, but it should never become a limiting factor for our moral response. We do not need a declaration to recognize what we are witnessing, as children, women, doctors, and journalists–the very people who create and maintain society– are slowly cut from their lifeline. That alone should be enough to alarm the international community.

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