Israel Tightens Siege As Gaza Starves under Bombs, Blocked Aid

The death toll from Israel’s genocidal war has now exceeded 60,000, with aid trucks either blocked or rendered useless by continued military aggression.

Not a single aid truck has reached those in desperate need in Gaza, despite claims by Israel of a so-called humanitarian corridor, Al Jazeera's Hani Mahmoud reported from Deir el-Balah on the fourth day of the supposed opening.

“This aid only exists on paper,” Mahmoud said, highlighting the farcical nature of Israel’s declared relief operations.

Since dawn alone, Israeli forces have killed at least 16 Palestinians, including 13 people who were merely trying to access aid, according to medical sources.

This brutal military campaign has resulted in the deaths of more than 60,000 Palestinians, as confirmed by Gaza’s Health Ministry. That number translates to the murder of one in every 36 people in the besieged enclave.

The figures underscore a daily massacre, with over 90 Palestinians killed on average each day.

In Washington, U.S. Senator Peter Welch delivered a rare moment of truth on the Senate floor, condemning the ongoing starvation and mass killing in Gaza.

"The Israeli-inflicted starvation of Palestinians in Gaza must end. It must end," he said.

Welch explicitly called out the United States for its complicity in this manufactured catastrophe, made possible by American weapons and funding.

"The deaths of so many tens of thousands of innocent people in Gaza will become part of our history," Welch warned, holding future generations of Americans accountable for this stain on humanity.

Describing the starvation in Gaza as intentional and militarized, he added: "This is not the unforeseen or unintended consequence of war... it is the result of a military policy to concentrate the Palestinian population into an ever smaller slice of land."

Welch further accused Netanyahu’s regime of launching “the most deadly and destructive aerial bombardment campaign since Vietnam,” emphasizing that the U.S. is legally and morally bound to act under international law.

Calling the mass hunger in Gaza a war crime, Welch said: “It is illegal to starve children to obtain a battlefield advantage.”

He concluded, “No, the United States will not stand by while hunger is used as a weapon. We don’t do that.”

Despite widespread condemnation, the Israeli military has rejected all calls for a ceasefire and continues its genocidal offensive unabated.

In November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former war minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Simultaneously, the International Court of Justice is examining Israel’s ongoing assault under a genocide case, as the regime’s total war seeks to wipe out the Palestinian presence in Gaza.