GAZA - At least 70 Palestinians, mostly women and children, were killed in violent attacks by the Israel Defense Forces on Saturday, according to a report from Al Jazeera. The Gazan death toll rose to 62,622, about fifty-five times the number of people killed (1,138) in the Hamas-led 7 October attacks. An additional 157,673 people have been injured, most of them severely, according to the Palestinian health ministry.

The surge in hostilities comes as large swathes of Gaza have been officially declared to be in famine, by the UN-backed Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) whose findings were announced this week.

According to the World Food Programme, "Famine is confirmed when three critical thresholds – extreme food deprivation, acute malnutrition and starvation-related deaths – have been breached."

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was scathing in his criticism of Israel's actions on Friday. "It is a man-made disaster, a moral indictment – and a failure of humanity itself," he said in a statement.

"Famine is not about food; it is the deliberate collapse of the systems needed for human survival."

Famine conditions are projected to spread from Gaza Governorate to Deir Al Balah and Khan Younis Governorates in the coming weeks, the IPC estimates.

Israel's obligations

"As the occupying power, Israel has unequivocal obligations under international law – including the duty of ensuring food and medical supplies of the population," said the UN chief, following the release of the famine declaration by the IPC, which is endorsed by dozens of governments, UN agencies and NGOs as the key evidence-based measure of food insecurity and malnutrition.

Mr Guterres said Israel's denial of its duties could not be allowed to continue.,"No more excuses. The time for action is not tomorrow – it is now." he said.

Silence the guns, release the hostages

UN agencies operating in Gaza joined the UN chief in calling for an immediate ceasefire to finally allow unimpeded, large-scale humanitarian response and the immediate release of all hostages taken by Hamas and other militants during the 7 October 2023 terror attacks.

Agencies also expressed grave concern over the threat of the intensified military offensive on Gaza City and any further escalation in the conflict, as it would have further devastating consequences for civilians where famine conditions already exist.

"Many people – especially sick and malnourished children, older people and people with disabilities – may be unable to evacuate," they said in a joint statement.

Possible war crime

UN human rights chief Volker Türk said the famine was the "direct result" of Israeli Government policies.

"It is a war crime to use starvation as a method of warfare, and the resulting deaths may also amount to the war crime of willful killing," he said.

"Israeli authorities must take immediate steps to end the famine in the Gaza Governorate and prevent further loss of life across the Gaza strip. They must ensure immediate entry of humanitarian assistance in sufficient amounts, and full access to UN and other humanitarian organizations."

Israel's response to IPC famine declaration 

Israel's response to the IPC report was highly critical. "We expect the international community to act responsibly and not be swept away by false narratives and unfounded propaganda, but rather to examine the complete data and the facts on the ground," Major-General Ghassan Alian, the head of Israel'sCoordination of Government Activities in the Territories  (COGAT) said Friday. "The IPC report is not only biased but also serves Hamas' propaganda campaign," he said.

The Israeli foreign ministry said the "entire IPC document is based on Hamas lies laundered through organizations with vested interests."

The strongest criticism however came from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office.

"The IPC report is an outright lie," a statement from the Prime Minister's Office on Friday said.

"Israel does not have a policy of starvation. Israel has a policy of preventing starvation. Since the beginning of the war Israel has enabled 2 million tons of aid to enter the Gaza Strip, over one ton of aid per person.  Today, prices have plunged because of Israel's surge in humanitarian aid in Gaza."

"The (IPC) report says nothing about the collapse in prices."

"Like all previous IPC reports, this one ignores Israel's humanitarian efforts and Hamas's systematic theft," the Israeli prime minister's office said. 

"Hamas steals aid to finance its war machine. These were the causes of temporary shortages, which Israel overcame with airdrops, maritime deliveries, safe transport routes, and GHF distribution points manned by American companies. Israel has gone to unprecedented lengths to enable aid to go into enemy territory."

"According to John Spencer, Chair of Urban Warfare Studies at West Point, no other country at war has gone to such lengths to feed the civilian population in enemy territory. "

"The only ones being intentionally starved in Gaza are the Israeli hostages," Mr Netanyahu's office said

"Refuting lies always takes longer than inventing them. "

"The IPC's fabrications will soon collapse. We have seen this before — major outlets publishing photos of children with congenital diseases, like cerebral palsy, and falsely blaming Israel for "starvation," the PMO statement said.

"This is not analysis. It is a modern blood libel, spreading like wildfire through prejudice. History will judge those who peddle it. The IPC must end its double standards against the Jewish state."

"Israel, will continue to act responsibly, ensuring aid reaches Gaza's civilians while destroying Hamas's terror machine," the Netanyahu office said. 

"The Hamas-orchestrated "starvation campaign" will not deter us from freeing our hostages and eliminating Hamas."

"The civilized world must demand two things: the immediate, unconditional release of all hostages and the truth," the Israeli prime minister';s office said..

Another journalist slain 

Among the seventy people killed Saturday in Gaza was another journalist.

Khaled Mohammed Al-Madhoun, a journalist and photographer for Palestine TV, was killed while waiting to photograph the arrival of humanitarian food trucks and the distribution of food to aid seekers. The attack took place near Zikim, north of the Gaza Strip.

The Palestinian Journalists Syndicate condemned his killing, which it described as 'part of an ongoing Israeli campaign against journalists aimed at silencing the Palestinian narrative.'

In its statement, the Syndicate stressed that targeting journalists is a continued crime committed by Israeli forces in an attempt to obscure the truth. 

According to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), 190 journalists have been killed so far in Gaza in the past 22 months.Another ninety have been imprisoned. 

"Israel is engaging in the deadliest and most deliberate effort to kill and silence journalists that CPJ has ever documented. Palestinian journalists are being threatened, directly targeted and murdered by Israeli forces, and are arbitrarily detained and tortured in retaliation for their work," CPJ says in a statement on its website. "Media infrastructure in Gaza is systematically destroyed, and censorship has been tightened throughout the West Bank and Israel."

"By silencing the press–those who document and bear witness–Israel is silencing the war. CPJ calls on the international community to: take immediate action to end these atrocities; grant international media independent access to Gaza to be able to investigate and report what is happening without fear of censorship or assassination; and hold Israel to account," the CPJ statement says.