Published 10/10/2023 15:16 | Edited 10/13/2023 10:47
After the UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, asked for humanitarian aid to reach the Gaza Strip on Monday (9), the head of the UN for Human Rights, Volker Turk, made an appeal this Tuesday ( 10) so that civilians are protected and by neutralizing what he called a “powder keg”.
According to the UN, Israel’s attack on the Palestinian territory of Gaza:
- reached 5,300 buildings;
- generated 200 thousand displaced people;
- left 610,000 Palestinians without drinking water.
When trying to balance responsibilities, Turk asked Hamas members to release hostages, as they should not be used as bargaining chips.
Regarding Israel’s responsibilities, he noted the measures adopted as disproportionate in the Gaza Strip, remembering that international law prohibits the suppression of water, food, fuel and electricity promoted by the Israelis against the Palestinians.
The situation classified as “collective punishment” affects all 2.2 million residents of Gaza. According to the UN, 200,000 people left their homes (destroyed or about to be destroyed) and are in shelters.
Read too: Israel cuts water, food, fuel and electricity to Palestinians
Schools run by the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, Unrwa, are being used as shelters. However, Israeli airstrikes hit 18 Unrwa facilities – which are protected by international law.
According to the UN, two agency employees and five students were killed. Unrwa spokesperson, Tamara Alrifai, ruled out the hypothesis that the schools are used by Hamas, as the locations are constantly inspected.
The World Health Organization (WHO) indicates that 13 health facilities in Gaza were hit. One solution proposed by the United Nations is the creation of a humanitarian corridor so that food and medication can reach the population of Gaza.
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In response, the Israeli government cited the deaths and injuries in its country and said that the UN cannot classify the acts caused by Hamas as terrorism. However, the Israeli government did not present justification for having corrupted laws against human rights by cutting off water and food and creating, over the decades, a true ‘open-air prison’, as Gaza is classified by experts.
The Palestinian territory of Gaza is only 365 km², an area equivalent to a quarter of the city of São Paulo. There are just over 2 million inhabitants with only access to the sea, pushed by the Israeli occupation that carried out settlements in Palestinian areas.
Source: vermelho.org.br
