Introduction:

Since the start of the current aggression, Israel has imposed a complete siege on the Gaza Strip,
tightening it on the northern Gaza Strip, where the Israeli Occupying Forces (IOF) ordered the
residents to evacuate with the aim of clearing Gaza of its Palestinian Population. Israel has used
starvation as a weapon of war along with willful killings, imposing measures intended to prevent
births, and the widespread destruction of civilian objects and vital infrastructure in Gaza. All these
acts amount to war crimes and a crime of genocide committed with a clear political will and explicit
intent outspoken in statements by the Israeli senior leaders.
On 09 October 2023 was the first statement revealing the Israeli authorities’ intent to starve and
annihilate the Gaza Strip population when the Israeli Defense Minister, Yoav Gallant, said: “I have
ordered a complete siege on the Gaza Strip. There will be no electricity, no food, no fuel, everything
is closed. We are fighting human animals, and we are acting accordingly.1″ The latest statement
reflecting this political will was on 08 August 2024, when the Israeli Finance Minister, Bezalel
Smotrich, stated: “No one in the world will allow us to starve 2 million people, even though it might
be justified and moral in order to free the hostages 2 .
IOF block aid deliveries to northern Gaza and simultaneously systematically destroys food
production systems, such as bakeries, farmlands, and factories, in addition to the fishing sector and
markets. As a result, Gazans are facing acute food insecurity with a high risk of imminent famine.
Women are particularly vulnerable to the starvation policy, especially mothers, pregnant women
and nursing mothers. There are many interconnected reasons that war causes disproportionate
increases in hunger among girls and women, but they boil down to social and economic roles that
have been shaped by pervasive gender discrimination. This paper aims to shed light on the specific
and interrelated impact of the starvation policy during the ongoing aggression on women and girls
in northern Gaza Strip and provide an analysis of the exacerbation of the physical and mental
health effects resulting from women’s gender roles in this society.