The United Nations special rapporteur on the right to food, Michael Fakhri, has reiterated a grave accusation against Israel, stating that the ongoing mass starvation in Gaza is not only deliberate but constitutes genocide. Fakhri, who first issued warnings about the crisis more than 500 days ago, says the unfolding humanitarian catastrophe is the result of a systematic campaign and that global leaders and corporations cannot now claim to be caught off guard.
“Israel has built the most efficient starvation machine you can imagine. So while it’s always shocking to see people being starved, no one should act surprised. All the information has been out in the open since early 2024,” Fakhri told The Guardian in a damning interview. “Israel is starving Gaza. It’s genocide. It’s a crime against humanity. It’s a war crime.”
Fakhri’s comments come amid a spiraling humanitarian disaster in the Gaza Strip, where more than 20,000 children have been hospitalized for acute malnutrition between April and mid-July alone, according to the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), a UN-backed global monitoring initiative. The IPC warned this week that the “worst-case scenario of famine is currently playing out” across the territory, with widespread hunger, disease, and displacement now a daily reality for over 2 million Palestinians.
The crisis traces back to October 9, 2023, just two days after a deadly Hamas attack on southern Israel—when then-Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant declared a “complete siege” on Gaza. Gallant announced that Israel would block the entry of electricity, food, fuel, and water into the territory, setting the stage for what aid organizations now describe as one of the fastest collapses into famine ever recorded. By December 2023, Gaza was home to 80% of all people worldwide facing catastrophic levels of hunger, according to UN and international aid agency data.
Fakhri, who has consistently sounded the alarm in official UN statements and international forums, drew comparisons to mythological Cassandra a figure doomed to speak truths that no one heeded. “I have been repeating it and repeating it and repeating it. I feel like Cassandra,” he said, lamenting the global inaction in the face of mounting evidence.
In his earlier interview published in February 2024, Fakhri stated unequivocally, “We have never seen a civilian population made to go so hungry so quickly and so completely, that is the consensus among starvation experts. Intentionally depriving people of food is clearly a war crime.” He went further to accuse Israel of pursuing a policy of destruction against Palestinians “in whole or in part, simply for being Palestinian,” categorizing the actions as genocide under international law.
The UN’s definition of genocide includes acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial, or religious group. Fakhri and several other UN experts argue that the deliberate deprivation of food, combined with widespread bombardment and displacement, meets this threshold. The allegation adds growing legal and moral pressure on Israel’s government and its allies, particularly as reports of starvation-related deaths and malnutrition mount by the day.
Despite repeated appeals from the UN, humanitarian agencies, and human rights groups, access to Gaza remains severely restricted. Israel’s blockade has continued to impede the entry of life-saving aid, including food, clean water, and medical supplies. Independent international journalists are also barred from freely entering the enclave, further limiting transparency and verification of conditions on the ground.
While many Western governments have been reluctant to publicly characterize the situation as genocide, the intensifying humanitarian toll and the growing body of expert analysis are forcing a reassessment of diplomatic stances. Human rights organizations and legal scholars are now calling for international investigations, sanctions, and greater accountability under the Geneva Conventions and international criminal law.
As starvation deepens and the world watches a man-made humanitarian catastrophe unfold, Fakhri’s warnings are ringing louder than ever. “No one should act surprised,” he said because, according to him and other UN experts, the evidence has long been visible to anyone willing to look.
