STRASBOURG, France, May 16, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - The Council of Europe on 
Friday said Gaza was suffering from a "deliberate starvation", and warned 
that Israel was sowing "the seeds for the next Hamas" in the territory.

"The time for a moral reckoning over the treatment of Palestinians has come -
- and it is long overdue," said Dora Bakoyannis, rapporteur for the Middle 
East at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.

The 46-member Council of Europe works to safeguard human rights and 
democracy.

"No cause, no matter how just or pure, can ever justify every means," 
Bakoyannis said in a statement.

"The mass killing of children and unarmed civilians, the deliberate 
starvation, and the relentless pain and humiliation inflicted upon 
Palestinians in Gaza must end."

Since March 2, Israeli forces have blocked all humanitarian aid entering Gaza 
for its 2.4 million inhabitants, now threatened with famine, according to 
several NGOs.

US President Donald Trump said earlier Friday that "a lot of people are 
starving" in the besieged territory.

Bakoyannis said that "it takes a smart and brave nation to recognise when its 
actions are causing more harm than good. What is unfolding in Gaza helps no-
one".

Breaking a two-month ceasefire, Israel resumed its offensive on March 18, 
with the declared goal of obtaining the release of all hostages still held in 
Gaza.

Israeli retaliation for Hamas' attack on October 7, 2023, has resulted in the 
death of 1,218 people on the Israeli side, mostly civilians, according to AFP 
data based on official figures.

Of the 251 people kidnapped, 57 remain held in Gaza, including 34 declared 
dead by the Israeli army.

Israeli retaliations have caused at least 53,010 deaths in Gaza, mostly 
civilians, according to the latest data from the Hamas Ministry of Health, 
considered reliable by the UN.