U.N. officials and rights groups warn Israel may seek to starve north Gaza

United Nations aid officials and Israeli human rights groups say Israel’s latest offensive in north Gaza forces residents to choose between leaving or starving. Israel allowed in food after Vice President Harris showed concern.

A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:

Is Israel trying to starve people in north Gaza?

MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

Aid workers and human rights groups are concerned that that is what Israel is trying to do with its new offensive. Jonathan Fowler is with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency that aids Palestinians.

JONATHAN FOWLER: The situation in north Gaza is like a catastrophe within a series of catastrophes.

MARTIN: His U.N. agency says civilians are given no choice but to leave or starve.

MARTÍNEZ: With us now is NPR's Daniel Estrin in Tel Aviv. Daniel, so help us understand what's happening in north Gaza.

DANIEL ESTRIN, BYLINE: Israel's carrying out a new offensive there over the last two weeks, particularly in the Jabalia refugee camp. Israel says Hamas has been trying to regroup there. Residents have been telling us about artillery hitting their buildings, about armed drones flying through the neighborhood opening fire, about Israeli tanks in the streets. The United Nations says hundreds of people have been killed, including children, in that area in the last few weeks. It says Israel has blocked food deliveries to north Gaza for the last two weeks, and Israel has ordered all of north Gaza to evacuate. We spoke to one man who did flee his home in Jabalia. His name is Muhammad al-Balawi (ph).

MUHAMMAD AL-BALAWI: (Non-English language spoken).

ESTRIN: He said he was in a group of 25 people fleeing, and they lost 10 of them, who were injured or killed as they fled under fire. He said no one looked behind them as they fled, and his story really encapsulates what is happening in north Gaza. He fled to another part of north Gaza, but his relatives who stayed behind told him they've run out of food and drinking water.

MARTÍNEZ: OK, so when the U.N. aid agencies for Palestinians says that civilians are given no choice but either to leave or starve, is that actually Israel's stated policy?

ESTRIN: It's not a stated policy, but it could be an unstated policy. A former Israeli national security advisor has published a proposal to pressure Hamas to release Israeli hostages by ordering civilians to leave north Gaza, and whoever doesn't will be without food and water and will, along with Hamas militants, have to either surrender or die of starvation. Now, this is a proposal that's not an official government plan, but Israeli officials have said that they considered it.

On the other hand, the Israeli army denies that it's being implemented. But this proposal has gotten a lot of international attention and concern from human rights groups in Israel because of the implications of starving a civilian population. And also, Vice President Kamala Harris tweeted her concern yesterday about the lack of food that has reached north Gaza.

MARTÍNEZ: Could that international attention make Israel change its course?

ESTRIN: It might be. After Harris tweeted her concern about the lack of food yesterday, Israel did allow some flour into north Gaza, although rights groups say it will not be sufficient for the population there. I did speak to a former Israeli military official who closely follows the war, Michael Milshtein, and thinks that Israel did try to partially implement this flee-or-starve plan, but then Israel realized it doesn't seem to be working. He thinks Israel realized many civilians are not fleeing north Gaza and that kind of policy might even endanger hostages.

I think the big picture here is that Israel is not clearly explaining what its aims are and what its objectives are in north Gaza with its new offensive. And that points to the fact that there continues to be no explicit endgame for Gaza, for the Gaza war and civilians continue to pay the price.

MARTÍNEZ: That's NPR's Daniel Estrin in Tel Aviv. Daniel, thanks.

ESTRIN: You're welcome.

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