Guterres: Warns against Using Starvation as 'Weapon of War'

The Secretary-General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres, said on Monday that starvation should not be used as a 'weapon of war,' especially citing the conflicts in Gaza and Sudan.


Guterres, speaking via video at the UN Food Systems Summit in Ethiopia, stated: 'Conflicts continue to spread hunger in Gaza, Sudan, and elsewhere, and hunger fuels instability and undermines peace. We must not accept the use of hunger as a weapon of war.'

On Sunday, the World Health Organization warned that malnutrition in Gaza has reached 'very alarming levels' and recorded 'the highest number of deaths in July.' Among the 74 deaths linked to malnutrition since the beginning of the year, 63 occurred this month, including the deaths of 24 children under five, a child over five, and 38 adults, according to the UN agency.

Israel, which has besieged Gaza since the start of the war with Hamas on October 7, 2023, imposed a tight blockade on the enclave in early March, slightly eased in late May, causing a severe shortage of essential supplies.

As for Sudan, it has been engulfed in a war since April 2023 between the army controlling the center, north, and east of the country, and the Rapid Support Forces governing almost all of Darfur in the west.

This conflict, which has claimed the lives of tens of thousands and forced over 14 million people to flee within and outside the country, has led to the 'worst humanitarian crisis in the world,' according to the United Nations.