Officials and ministers either deny that Palestinians are being affected by hunger or say it is not Israel’s fault
Middle East crisis live – latest updates
Israel is pursuing an extensive PR effort to remove itself from blame for the starvation and killing of Palestinian civilians in Gaza in the face of overwhelming evidence that it is responsible.
As dozens of governments, UN organisations and other international figures have detailed Israel’s culpability, officials and ministers in Israel have attempted to suggest that there is no hunger in Gaza, that if hunger exists it is not Israel’s fault, or to blame Hamas or the UN and aid organisations for problems with distribution of aid.
The Israeli effort has continued even as one of its own government ministers, the far-right heritage minister, Amichai Eliyahu, made comments this week describing an unapologetic policy of starvation, genocide and ethnic cleansing that Israel has suggested is not official policy.
