Today, Tuesday, October 10, 2023, the Palestine Red Crescent Society issued a press release in which it warned of the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza .
The following is the text of the statement
The Palestine Red Crescent Society warns of the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip.
10-10-2023 The Palestine Red Crescent Society views with great concern the escalating humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip, resulting from the Israeli occupation’s attacks against the protected population in the Strip, including medical teams. It warns of the danger of the increasing frequency of violations by the occupation forces against medical teams in various Throughout the occupied Palestinian territory.
The occupation forces continue to violate the provisions of international humanitarian law by targeting the civilian population and civilian objects, and the infrastructure has been completely destroyed in some areas of the Gaza Strip, which hinders the Society’s performance of its humanitarian mission. The association also views with utmost seriousness the statements of Israeli occupation authorities officials imposing a complete siege on the Gaza Strip and banning the entry of food, water and fuel into it, which constitutes ongoing collective punishment of more than two million Palestinian civilians. The Society and other humanitarian institutions also suffer from a scarcity of basic materials necessary to continue providing their services, as a result of this illegal blockade.
In the same context, the Society warns of the danger of the increasing rate of violations by the occupation forces against medical personnel throughout the occupied Palestinian territory, as the Palestine Red Crescent Society alone recorded 23 violations against its medical missions since Saturday, October 7, 2023, including 7 violations in the Gaza Strip, It resulted in the injury of 5 members of the association’s ambulance crews, one of whom was in critical condition, and material damage to 6 ambulances, in addition to severe damage to the association’s headquarters in the northern Gaza Strip, and damage to the emergency operations room at the association’s main headquarters in the southern governorates of the Strip, as a result of continuous indiscriminate shelling. to the occupation forces.
In the West Bank, the association recorded 16 violations, including targeting ambulances with live bullets, threatening and detaining medical personnel, and preventing or obstructing access to those in need of emergency medical services. In a very serious incident that occurred on Monday, October 9, 2023, in Ramallah Governorate , one of the association’s staff was physically and verbally assaulted, detained for about half an hour, their phones were confiscated, and they were explicitly threatened with death.
The Palestine Red Crescent Society calls for an end to the impunity of the Israeli occupation authorities and forces for serious violations of the provisions of international humanitarian law, which may amount to war crimes. It also calls on the entire international community to provide protection for medical and humanitarian teams to ensure safe access for all sick and wounded, and to intervene immediately and urgently to stop the humanitarian crisis, end the siege imposed on the Gaza Strip for 16 years, and open a safe humanitarian corridor for the entry of fuel and essential materials for the continued work of humanitarian facilities . And the exit of injured and patients who need to receive treatment outside the Gaza Strip, in line with their legal obligations in accordance with the provisions of international law.
