The report says that famine spread throughout the enclave after nine months of war.
United Nations human rights experts have accused Israel of carrying out a “targeted hunger campaign” that resulted in the deaths of children in Gaza.
“Israel’s intentional and targeted starvation campaign against the Palestinian people is a form of genocidal violence and has resulted in famine throughout Gaza,” ten independent UN experts said in a statement on Tuesday.
Israel’s diplomatic mission to the UN in Geneva rejected the statement and accused the experts of “spreading disinformation” and “supporting Hamas propaganda.”
Gaza health authorities said at least 33 children had died from malnutrition, mainly in northern Gaza, which until recently faced the brunt of the Israeli military campaign launched in October.
In recent months, the war has also spread to southern Gaza, reducing aid flows to the enclave amid restrictions by Israel, which has accused UN agencies of failing to distribute supplies efficiently.
“With the deaths of these children from starvation, despite medical treatment, in central Gaza, there is no doubt that the famine spread from northern Gaza to central and southern Gaza,” the experts said.
At a hospital in Khan Younis, Ghaneyma Joma told Reuters news agency on Monday that she feared her son would die of hunger.
“It is distressing to see my son… lying there, dying of malnutrition, because I cannot provide him with anything due to the war, the closure of crossings and the contaminated water,” she said.
Determining whether there is hunger depends on a UN-supported global monitor called the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), which makes an assessment based on a set of technical criteria.
Last month, the IPC said Gaza remained at high risk of famine as the war continued and access to aid was restricted.
More than 495,000 people in Gaza – more than a fifth of the population – face the most severe, or “catastrophic”, level of food insecurity, he said, down from the forecast of 1.1 million in the previous update in March. This level means that people are experiencing extreme lack of food and hunger.
The Israeli mission in Geneva noted that the IPC’s latest assessment determined that famine did not materialize after access to aid improved somewhat.
“Israel has continually increased its coordination and assistance in delivering humanitarian aid across the Gaza Strip, recently connecting its power line to the Gaza water desalination plant,” he added.
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