JENIN, West Bank /PNN/ 

A group of Palestinian activists, including rights advocates and intellectuals, launched an open-ended hunger strike on Wednesday outside the offices of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Jenin, in solidarity with the people of Gaza who are facing what they describe as a campaign of starvation and genocide by Israeli forces.

The demonstrators gathered outside the ICRC building holding banners demanding an immediate end to the war and calling for the international community to stop what they termed a “war of extermination” against Palestinians. They later handed a letter to ICRC representatives urging urgent humanitarian action, including the delivery of food, medical supplies and aid to the besieged Gaza Strip.

In their letter, addressed to world leaders through their respective UN representatives, the United Nations Secretary-General, and the International Red Cross, the activists wrote:
"Do not act for Gaza or for our people – act for your own conscience, for your morals, and for your children’s dream of a world where justice, peace, compassion and equality prevail."

The letter continued: "Until you grasp the meaning behind these words, we Palestinians hereby declare the start of an open hunger strike in support of our people in Gaza and in defence of justice, freedom, and human dignity for all people worldwide."

The message sharply criticised international silence in the face of what the protesters described as atrocities in Gaza, warning that if world leaders fail to stand for justice and liberty now, they cannot expect such support when they themselves are in need. It concluded by calling into question the credibility of institutions such as the United Nations and the broader human rights framework.

Organisers of the hunger strike said their action is a call to break the silence in the West Bank and go beyond verbal condemnations. “This hunger strike is a message to local and international audiences,” said Sanaa Zakarneh, a prominent educator and secretary of the Palestinian National Council.

Speaking to PNN, Zakarneh said: “This strike is a response to the genocide and starvation being carried out by Israel in Gaza — the same people who stood with Jenin under bombardment. As European streets rise in protest, the West Bank remains largely silent. We must raise our voices and act.”

Protesters also reiterated their frustration during the letter delivery, saying that if international organisations fail to act according to their stated principles, then “there is no meaning left to the so-called charters of the United Nations or the human rights conventions they claim to uphold.”

Adnan Al-Sabbagh, a Palestinian writer and intellectual, described the hunger strike as a moral necessity.
“We’ve passed the point where statements and calls for help are enough,” he told PNN. “This hunger strike is a message to the world to stop the crimes happening in Gaza.”

He added: “Gazan voices have been silenced — no food, no water, no one to hear them. So today we silence our own mouths through this hunger strike, in a cry to the world — Arabs, Muslims, Christians, Jews, Buddhists — to listen and act to end the killing, starvation, and destruction of the Palestinian people.”

Al-Sabbagh emphasised that the hunger strike is the very least Palestinians in the West Bank can do as they witness the ongoing devastation in Gaza.

Its worth to mention that the Gaza Strip, under Israeli siege since the start of the war on 7 October 2023, has descended into a severe humanitarian catastrophe. According to UNICEF, children in Gaza are dying at an “unprecedented rate” due to hunger and lack of medical access. More than 18,000 children have been killed since the beginning of the conflict.

The Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza recently reported that 169 people, including 93 children, have died from famine and malnutrition, with numbers expected to rise as humanitarian aid remains blocked. One in every three people in Gaza is reportedly going days without access to food, prompting repeated international warnings of an imminent famine.