Top Cleric Urges Global Action to End Gaza Starvation, Slams Israeli ‘War Crimes’
Ayatollah Alireza Arafi, head of Iran’s Islamic seminaries, issued a letter to 26 prominent religious figures—including Pope Francis, Al-Azhar Grand Imam Ahmed El-Tayyeb, and scholars from Turkey, Qatar, Pakistan, and beyond—demanding urgent intervention to break Israel’s siege and halt "war crimes" in Gaza.
"With a heart grieving over the war crimes of the Zionists and a spirit filled with Islamic brotherhood, I write this letter," Arafi declared.
He condemned the "oppression in Gaza" as not just a political crisis but a "divine test" for the world’s conscience, urging scholars to "confront the tyrants" and pressure governments to act.
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The plea comes as Gaza’s Health Ministry reported at least 10 more Palestinians starved to death on Wednesday, raising the malnutrition death toll to 111 since October 2023—21 of them children under five. Israeli attacks killed another 100 Palestinians in 24 hours, including 34 aid seekers. The UN says Israeli forces have shot dead over 1,000 civilians near aid points since May.
Arafi’s letter noted that the Israeli regime is deliberately strangling Gaza, where UN agencies report being blocked from delivering food for months. "The hunger of Muslim children leaves no excuse before God," he wrote, demanding immediate aid and endorsing international scholarly gatherings to coordinate relief efforts.
The limited aid is now delivered into Gaza via the controversial US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF).
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Recently, 111 aid groups—including Mercy Corps and Refugees International—warned of "mass starvation" while supplies rot at Gaza’s borders.
"The Islamic nation must take fundamental action," Arafi insisted, vowing Iran’s "resounding cry of support" for Gaza.
His appeal mirrors UN officials’ demands for safe aid access, with the World Food Programme’s Ross Smith stressing: "We need no armed actors near our convoys."
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