Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) warned on Wednesday that the Gaza Strip is turning into a mass grave for Palestinians and those trying to provide them with aid.
Claire Nicolet, MSF’s head of emergencies, said: “Although the International Court of Justice has initiated advisory proceedings regarding Israel’s obligations as an occupying power to facilitate the entry of aid to Palestinians, this decision will take time, and the people of Gaza do not have that luxury.”
Nicolet added: “Waiting for any legal path to end Israel’s deliberate strangulation of aid, food, and medicine into Gaza will condemn more Palestinians to death when they could be saved, while the world watches indifferently, failing to act to stop this indiscriminate and horrific brutality.”
She stressed that the situation in the Gaza Strip is catastrophic on all levels. The complete ban imposed by the Israeli authorities on the entry of humanitarian aid and supplies since March 2 is having deadly consequences for civilians in Gaza. Piccolet continued: “The Israeli blockade undermines our ability as humanitarian and medical workers to respond effectively and efficiently.
She explained that Israel is using aid not only as a negotiating tool, but also as a weapon of war and a means of collective punishment for the more than two million people living in the Strip, where MSF teams are witnessing shortages of medical and food supplies.
She called on countries to exert greater pressure on the Israeli authorities to lift the blockade and allow widespread aid into this stricken Strip to avoid further suffering and death.”
