In its 28 March 2024 order in the case of South Africa v. Israel, making explicit reference to the ‘catastrophic humanitarian situation’ in Gaza, the International Court of Justice instructed the State of Israel to:

‘Take all necessary and eective measures to ensure, without delay, in full co-operation with the United Nations, the unhindered provision at scale by all concerned of urgently needed basic services and humanitarian assistance, including food, water, electricity, fuel, shelter, clothing, hygiene and sanitation requirements, as well as medical supplies and medical care to Palestinians throughout Gaza, including by increasing the capacity and number of land crossing points and maintaining them open for as long as necessary.’

The Court indicated that Israel was required to take these measures to comply with its obligations under the Genocide Convention and raised particular concern regarding ‘the spread of famine and starvation’.

In the sixteen months since the Court issued this order, Israel has continued to pursue policies which have the foreseeable outcome of the destruction of the Palestinian people of Gaza.

This report focuses on an Israeli system of aid distribution that ostensibly feeds Palestinians in Gaza, while in fact, according to our analysis, constituting a programme of intentional mass starvation on two levels: first, the starvation of individuals through the provision of starvation rations or no rations at all, and second, the use of mass starvation as a means of destroying the social order among the population of Gaza as a whole, towards the
dismantling of the foundations of a functioning society in the region, and the separation of that population from its land.

Our findings show how Israel has systematically dismantled the long-standing and eective ‘civilian model’ of aid distribution through aid organisations and the local community. In its place, Israel has established a ‘military model’ of aid distribution which carries out starvation rationing. Through the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) and airdropped aid, Israel has created dependency upon a system which is, we conclude, deadly by design.

Aug 22, 2025

As the world‘s leading authority on hunger crises officially declared a catastrophic famine in Gaza, a report published Friday details how Israel has dismantled the time-tested civilian aid distribution model and replaced it with a military-based system in which many Palestinians are not only dying from starvation but are also being killed while trying to obtain food.

Forensic Architecture (FA)—a multidisciplinary research group based at Goldsmiths, University of London—and World Peace Foundation (WPF), a philanthropic organization affiliated with the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University in Massachusetts—published The Architecture of Genocidal Starvation in Gaza, March-August 2025, „revealing how… Israel has dismantled the proven and internationally-backed ‚civilian model‘ of aid distribution, replacing it with a ‚military model‘ which furthers Israel‘s military and political objectives in Gaza while starving the region‘ss civilian population.“