Front Burner

When hunger is a weapon

We’re joined by an authority on ‘starvation crimes’ to understand why the weaponization of food during wartime continues, and why it’s difficult to prosecute.
A child squatting behind a fence holds out a pot under the barrier as others also hold out pots.
TOPSHOT - Palestinians gather to receive aid food being distributed along the roadside at the Nuseirat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip on January 11, 2025, as the war between Israel and Hamas militants continues. (Photo by Eyad BABA / AFP) (Photo by EYAD BABA/AFP via Getty Images) (Eyad Baba/AFP/Getty Images)

Since October 7, access to food in Gaza – and its systematic restriction by Israel – has been the subject of international condemnation. 

The most recent incident is the killing of dozens of Palestinians attempting to obtain food from an aid distribution centre.

Israeli settlers have blocked roads, and aid delivery. Aid convoys and workers have also been targeted with violence. And as of March, Israel established a full scale blockade on aid into the Gaza strip. Today a trickle has been allowed into the territory.

International organizations have been warning of famine in Gaza for more than a year. 

Alex de Waal is the executive director of the World Peace Foundation at Tufts University, and author of 'Mass Starvation: The History and Future of Famine.'  He joins the show for a discussion about starvation crimes, why the weaponization of food during wartime continues, and how famine has proven difficult to prosecute in court.

For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts

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