Swedish Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard deemed the Israeli occupation's refusal to allow humanitarian aid into Gaza and its targeting of aid distribution sites a ‘war crime,’ stressing that these practices cause civilian starvation.During a press conference on Thursday, Stenergard said that using the starvation of civilians as a tool of war is a war crime, noting that ‘life-saving humanitarian aid should not be politicized or used as a weapon.’She explained that there are strong indications currently that Israel is not fulfilling its obligations under international humanitarian law, stressing the importance of ensuring that food, water, and medicine quickly reach the civilian population, many of whom are women and children living in completely inhumane conditions.For his part, Swedish Minister of International Development, Benjamin Dousa stated at the press conference that Stockholm is now channeling aid through other UN organizations and that it is ‘the fifth largest donor in the world… and the second largest donor in the European Union to the humanitarian response in Gaza.’ He noted that the value of humanitarian aid his country has provided to Gaza since the outbreak of the war on October 7, 2023, has currently reached more than 1 billion Swedish kronor (USD 105 million), while the total funding allocated to Gaza for the current year amounts to 800 million Swedish kronor.In December2024, Sweden announced that it would halt its funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) after the Israeli occupation banned the organization.It is worth noting that the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Wilker Turk, considered the deadly attacks on civilians around aid distribution points in the Gaza Strip a ‘war crime,’ while human rights organizations, including Amnesty International, have accused the Israeli occupation of committing ‘acts of genocide.’
