"While your coverage mentions Israel’s blockade on the occupied Gaza Strip, it fails to mention that this practice constitutes a crime against humanity, defying one of the six provisional measures issued by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in January 2024, which explicitly requires Israel to allow humanitarian aid into Gaza (Application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide in the Gaza Strip [South Africa v. Israel], Order of 26 January 2024)."
March 7, 2025
To the CityNews Toronto newsroom,
I am writing on behalf of Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) regarding your recent news segment by Erica Navidad. Your reporting states that:
“On Sunday, Israel blocked all aid from entering Gaza, demanding that more hostages be released without beginning negotiations to end the war.”
While your coverage mentions Israel’s blockade on the occupied Gaza Strip, it fails to mention that this practice constitutes a crime against humanity, defying one of the six provisional measures issued by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in January 2024, which explicitly requires Israel to allow humanitarian aid into Gaza (Application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide in the Gaza Strip [South Africa v. Israel], Order of 26 January 2024).
By continuing to prohibit aid from entering, Israel is using starvation as a weapon of war, a practice condemned under international humanitarian law, specifically, article 55 of the Fourth Geneva Convention which mandates that an occupying power is legally obligated to ensure that the civilian population has access to food and medical supplies.
Furthermore, by using starvation and medical shortages as a weapon of war, Israel is committing another war crime—collective punishment—in violation of article 8(2)(b)(xxv) of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court which explicitly criminalizes the intentional use of starvation as a method of warfare.
Although Israel has not ratified the Rome Statute, the ICC has jurisdiction over war crimes committed in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT) because Palestine acceded to the Rome Statute in 2015, making it a state party to the ICC. As a result, Israeli officials can still be prosecuted for war crimes under 8(2)(b)(xxv) of the Rome Statute.
As a public news outlet, CityNews Toronto has a responsibility to uphold the principles of fair and accurate journalism. Your coverage should have explicitly stated that Israel is using starvation as a weapon of war, which is in blatant violation of international law. Anything less risks normalizing human rights abuses, war crimes, and crimes against humanity.
Lastly, I have written to CityNews several times but have yet to receive a response. I hope this will be an instance where CityNews is open to engaging in dialogue with us in the name of balanced and fair reporting.
Warm regards,
Lynn Naji
Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East