FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

March 5, 2024

Media Contact: Melissa Garriga | [email protected] 

CODEPINK and Peace Activists to Raise Issue of the Forced Starvation of Gaza Outside Senate Global Food Security Hearing

Washington, DC – Tomorrow, Wednesday, March 6, CODEPINK, Doctors Against Genocide, and the International Coalition to Stop Genocide in Gaza (ICSGP) will attend the Senate hearing on Global Food Security at Dirksen Room 419. The hearing starts at 10am but the group will be available to talk to the press from 9am-9:45am, right before they enter the hearing. 

Attendees of the Senate Global Food Security will force the Senators to acknowledge the forced starvation of Gaza at the hands of Israel, supported and sustained by the United States. They will have a strong visual presence, representing the starvation many in Gaza are now experiencing. 

Members of the press are invited to come hear testimonies and statements that will likely not be shared in the hearing being held inside the chambers. 

“We are all witnessing the horrific, lethal impacts of the intentionally induced famine in Gaza," says Adrienne Pine, co-coordinator of the ICSGP. "The ICSGP has thus far collected over 200 signatures of movements and organizations from around the world on our letter demanding an end to Israel’s genocidal starvation campaign, and is calling for individuals and organizations to participate in the March 9 Global Action against the Use of Starvation as Genocide in Palestine."

The demonstration and press gaggle aim to center the dire humanitarian crisis in Gaza, emphasizing that Gaza is not starving but rather being starved. This deliberate act of deprivation is perpetuated by Israel, and is aided and aided by the United States.

Drawing parallels to historical atrocities, the activists stress that starvation is a tool of oppression and cruelty, reminiscent of tactics employed during the Holocaust. They call upon elected officials to acknowledge and address this crime against humanity, urging for accountability and action for the forced starvation happening in Gaza. “This is  human-made hunger being used as a tool of war and must stop immediately,” says Medea Benjamin of CODEPINK. “We demand that our elected officials refund the relief organization UNRWA, demand an immediate permanent ceasefire and stop funding Israel’s war crimes.” 

For more information or assistance locating the protest, please contact Michelle Ellner at [email protected].

###