المجلة الجزائرية للأمن والتنمية
Volume 15, Numéro 2, Pages 337-352
2026-07-01
Starvation As A Military Strategy: Conceptual Framing And Mechanism Analysis In The Context Of The War On Gaza
Authors : Benhedjaz Samia .
Abstract
This article introduces starvation as a tool of war and politics, not merely an unintended consequence of fighting. It addresses a central question: how does deprivation of food in the Gaza war turn into an integrated strategy that can be described legally and explained politically, and what are the limits of accountability under international humanitarian law? The study adopts a multi-level approach that combines a legal reading of the prohibition of starving civilians and the duty to facilitate relief access, with a political–institutional analysis of decision-making and international selectivity. It also traces evidence from UN and humanitarian reports on the siege, the closure of crossings, the disruption of supply chains, and attacks on infrastructure linked to food and water. The findings show that these measures do not operate separately; they reinforce one another to produce a clear pattern of “politicized famine,” where material restrictions, administrative controls, and security discourse are used to normalize civilian deprivation. The article also concludes that the core problem is not the ambiguity of legal rules, but weak enforcement and the absence of deterrence. It therefore calls for independent monitoring, faster enforcement mechanisms, linking humanitarian response to hunger indicators, and accelerating judicial accountability, while proposing practical indicators to detect the pattern early and limit its effects.
Keywords
Starvation ; Accountability ; International Inertia ; Gaza ; Politicized Famine
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