Date: 11 Mar 2024
Urgent Appeal
On the occasion of the month of Ramadan, “Hashd” calls for urgent international and humanitarian action to stop the genocide and provide relief to the people of Gaza
The International Commission to Support Palestinians Rights (Hashd) warns of the continued international failure to stop the ongoing genocide for 157 days now, entering its sixth month, coinciding with the blessed month of Ramadan. This comes alongside the Israeli occupation’s failure to halt the aggression, which has so far resulted in the martyrdom and loss of nearly 40,000 citizens, and the injury of 73,000 others, 70% of whom are children and women. Additionally, 2 million forcibly displaced people are living under continuous humanitarian disaster and catastrophe, with 75% of civilian and humanitarian buildings and facilities destroyed, turning the region into an uninhabitable disaster area. Severe famine is spreading due to the continued collective punishment, obstruction of humanitarian aid entry, medical supplies, and necessary fuel to operate hospitals and service facilities, most of which have been taken out of service. International organizations, especially the UN Relief and Works Agency, are hindered from operating, and the blockade on humanitarian aid entry to the northern Gaza Strip, home to nearly 400,000 citizens, persists. They have been repeatedly targeted while waiting for aid, with access to aid now contingent upon risking their lives, resulting in the deaths of dozens due to famine, thirst, medicine shortages, and the absence of healthcare services.
Hashd expresses pain and concern that the month of Ramadan arrives amidst the ongoing tragedy and humanitarian disaster in Gaza, with acute famine due to the continuous crimes of the Israeli occupation against Palestinians. This means that the people of Gaza are unable to provide iftar or suhoor meals amidst the siege, ongoing collective punishment, and limited humanitarian aid. This necessitates the formation of an international humanitarian alliance to ensure international protection for Palestinians from genocide crimes and provide safe humanitarian corridors to facilitate the flow of aid to the people of Gaza.
While welcoming all international and Arab efforts aimed at ensuring the flow of humanitarian aid through expanding airlift operations and announcing the opening of a maritime corridor for aid flow, “Hashd” emphasizes the necessity for these routes not to be alternatives to aid entry. Aid must flow regularly and smoothly through international humanitarian organizations, especially via land crossings into Gaza, ensuring fair distribution to all in need across all regions of the strip. It stresses the seriousness of the work to deliver aid and address severe famine away from deception and misleading tactics aimed at prolonging the Israeli aggression.
Hashd strongly condemns the continuation of brutal daily massacres against Palestinian families, exceeding 2,800 massacres. These involve deliberate targeting of civilian homes without prior warning, destroying them over the heads of their inhabitants, bombing shelters and displaced tents using warplane missiles and tank shells. This was evident yesterday in the bombing of the tents of the Abdelghafour family in the Moassi area of Khan Younis, classified by the occupation as safe zones. The organization also condemns the continued raids on shelters and the perpetration of field killings, the arrest of displaced persons, torture, and their detention in unknown locations, all contributing to the crime of enforced disappearance within a systematic policy framework, within the context of the ongoing genocide against the population of Gaza.
Hashd calls on the international community and all freedom-loving people to continue their political, diplomatic, human rights, media, and popular efforts, including activating mechanisms of accountability, boycott, and imposing sanctions on the Israeli occupation state. They should escalate solidarity movements and demands to stop the Israeli aggression, genocide, and collective punishment on Gaza, ensuring the mobilization of international and Arab efforts to provide relief to the people of Gaza and facilitate the flow of humanitarian aid. This should be done in implementation of the International Court of Justice measures, UN resolutions, and in dedication to humanitarian principles, respect for the rules of international humanitarian law, human rights conventions, and rejection of the continuation of jungle law, double standards, and support for the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination and the end of the Israeli occupation.
End
The International Commission to Support Palestinians Rights (Hashd)
