Israel intensifies ground and air strikes on nearly cut-off Gaza while UN denounces 'war crimes' in conflict for first time and warns many will soon starve to death

“In the beginning, people could go to the market or to the stores. Now, no more. Stores have empty shelves. People are struggling to get food, but there are already people starving in Gaza,” warns Nebal Farsakh, spokesman for the Palestinian Red Crescent, speaking over the phone.

At a press conference in Jerusalem, the commissioner general of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), Philippe Lazzarini, insisted that “many” Palestinians will die “soon,” not because of the bombings, but because of the consequences of the complete blockade imposed by Israel. His colleagues in Gaza, 57 of whom have lost their lives in the three weeks of air strikes, have begun to report to him the first cases of starvation inside the Strip, he added.

The death toll in the Gaza Strip stands at 7,326, of whom 3,038 are children, according to data from the Gaza Health Ministry.