United Nations (UN) experts as part of the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council declared on Tuesday that famine has undoubtedly spread throughout the Gaza Strip. The expert declaration follows the deaths of three more Palestinian children in May and June.

Six-month-old Fayez Ataya, 13-year-old Abdulqader Al-Serhi, and nine-year-old Ahmad Abu Reida were all found by the experts to have died from malnutrition, which is irrefutable evidence that famine has taken hold. The experts report that inaction from the international community is equal to complicity and added that “Israel’s intentional and targeted starvation campaign against the Palestinian people is a form of genocidal violence and has resulted in famine across all of Gaza.”

Gaza has been engulfed in conflict since last October when Israel declared war in the aftermath of the deadly Hamas attack. Following South Africa’s proceedings against Israel, the International Court of Justice has twice ordered Israel to prevent the blocking of humanitarian aid into Gaza, which would violate the Genocide Convention, noting in the second order, that famine was setting in. The experts’ declaration is in addition to the UN World Food Programme’s warning of a “full-blown famine” in May which was the the first official UN confirmation of famine in Gaza.

The expert group called on the international community to “prioritise the delivery of humanitarian aid by land by any means necessary, end Israel’s siege, and establish a ceasefire.” It is reported by the experts that 34 Palestinians have died from malnutrition since 7 October, most of whom are children. According to the Gaza Ministry of Health, 37,232 Palestinians in Gaza have been killed and over 85,000 have been injured as of June 13, 2024.

The expert group is composed of Special Rapporteurs, Independent Experts and Working Groups and operates voluntarily as part of the independent fact-finding and monitoring mechanisms of the UN Human Rights Council.