The Crime of Starving Palestinians in the Gaza Strip: Between Legal Responsibility and Accountability
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Published
May 26, 2026
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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
May Barakat
https://orcid.org/0009-0007-4840-3801
Yaser Amouri
https://orcid.org/0009-0008-0818-3274
https://orcid.org/0009-0007-4840-3801
Yaser Amouri
https://orcid.org/0009-0008-0818-3274
Abstract
This study addresses the multiple legal qualifications of the crime of starvation occurring in the Gaza Strip since October 2023, according to International Criminal Law, considering it as either a crime of genocide or a war crime. A critical issue arises in the midst of the legal debate, stemming from the centrality of the criminal intent (Mens rea), specifically the specific genocidal intent (dolus specialis), as a criterion for distinguishing genocide from other international crimes. This is closely related to determining the type of legal responsibility involved, whether it is Israel's international responsibility or individual criminal liability, which represents the main problem of the research. The study aims to offer an alternative and comprehensive reading of the crime of starvation as a criminal act falling under the crime of genocide. To achieve this goal, the researchers used both comparative and descriptive-analytical methodologies. The study concluded with the main finding that the crime of starvation in the Gaza Strip should be viewed as an integral part of the genocidal practices and policies pursued by Israel against the Palestinians.
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Keywords
StarvationGaza StripGenocideWar CrimesInternational Court of JusticeInternational Criminal Court
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How to Cite
Barakat , M. ., & Amouri, Y. . (2026). The Crime of Starving Palestinians in the Gaza Strip: Between Legal Responsibility and Accountability . International Review of Law, 15(1). https://doi.org/10.29117/irl.2026.0370
Section
Articles in Arabic