Gaza - Saba:
The international NGO Handicap International said that the atrocities being committed before our eyes in the Gaza Strip, amid the inaction of the international community, are horrific, and that the degree of dehumanization of Palestinians is appalling.
This came in an interview with Mara Bernasconi, the organization's Palestine Advocacy Officer, with the French newspaper L'Humanité, in which she described the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip.
Bernasconi, who had just returned from an aid mission to the Gaza Strip, explained: "The people of Gaza are living in inhumane conditions... without electricity, with limited access to water, amid humidity, cold, and sandstorms."
Bernasconi added: "While I was there, tents were being blown away by the wind, while people had nothing left. Shelters offer only minimal protection. The scale of the destruction is unimaginable. Buildings have collapsed, rubble is everywhere. Roads have been destroyed by bombing, and the asphalt has been reduced to rubble to the point that some people no longer recognize their own neighborhood."
"People live in constant fear of the next bombardment, knowing that they could be the next victims at any moment, without discrimination. Many wonder why their neighborhood hasn't been bombed yet, and some even go so far as to say, 'Why not me?'"
She noted that "to make decisions for survival, families are forced to make painful choices: their members are split up, the father goes with some of the children, the mother with the others, some to central Gaza, others to the south. These are horrific conditions. Some only eat one meal a day to feed their children."
In response to a question from the newspaper about how much she and her organization, Handicap International, fear famine in light of the shortages in supplies caused by the Israeli authorities' blockade of humanitarian aid and the power outage for two weeks, Mara Bernasconi explained that during the ceasefire, the organization was able to bring in large quantities of aid: prosthetic limbs, medical supports, and basic supplies. However, its stock will soon run out.
She considered the denial of aid entry at the beginning of the month a flagrant violation of international humanitarian law. According to international treaties, the occupying power bears the responsibility for ensuring the supply of food, water, and medicine to the population, and for facilitating the access of relief teams (as stipulated in the 1949 Geneva Convention). She denounced the Israelis' use of humanitarian aid as a bargaining chip in negotiations, saying, "It is collective punishment."
The humanitarian worker expressed concern and fear about the dire consequences of this blockade: famine has become a weapon of war. How long will we continue to observe, enumerate, and discuss these violations without taking action?
She believed that the issue is a matter of political will, which lies in the hands of a small number of states, which also have responsibilities under international humanitarian law, including prohibiting the provision of material, financial, or military support to any party to the conflict, facilitating the delivery of humanitarian aid, and ensuring respect for the law. Diplomatic pressure is no longer sufficient.
"Condemning the denial of humanitarian aid is one thing, but taking concrete action is another. The Zionist entity has been an occupying force in the Palestinian territories for decades, and wars are frequent. However, over the past 15 months, the situation has become extremely dangerous, with an exceptional number of serious violations of international humanitarian law."
It is worth noting that Handicap International employs more than 300 Palestinian and six international staff, including psychologists, prosthetists, mine clearance experts, as well as logistical and security teams.
At the beginning of March, the occupying Zionist entity re-closed all crossings into Gaza to prevent the entry of humanitarian aid, after reneging on the ceasefire agreement in the Strip, amid American disregard and international silence.
The Zionist government also reneged on entering the second phase of the agreement and ending the war as agreed upon, and cut off limited electricity to the desalination plant in the central Gaza Strip.
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