2023-11-12 23:37:51
The EU has accused the terrorist organization Hamas of using hospitals and civilians in the Gaza Strip as “human shields”. In a statement issued on Sunday by EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell on behalf of the EU, Israel was also called on to exercise “the greatest possible restraint” in order to protect the lives of civilians. Hamas, however, contradicted Israel’s claims that it had refused fuel for the Al-Shifa hospital in the Gaza Strip.
“The EU is deeply concerned regarding the worsening humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip,” the statement said. The EU joins the calls for an “immediate” pause in fighting and the “establishment of humanitarian corridors” in order to be able to provide the population of the Gaza Strip with humanitarian aid.
“The EU condemns Hamas’ use of hospitals and civilians as human shields,” said Borrell. “Civilians must have the opportunity to leave the combat zone.” Borrell complained regarding the severe consequences of the fighting for hospitals in the Gaza Strip and “terrible consequences for civilians and medical personnel.” International humanitarian law requires that hospitals, medical care and civilians in hospitals must be protected, he emphasized.
The hospitals must therefore be immediately supplied with the most urgent medical supplies and patients who need urgent medical care must be safely evacuated, demanded Borrell. “In this context, we urge Israel to exercise the greatest possible restraint to ensure the protection of the civilian population,” the EU foreign policy chief added.
The humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip continued to deteriorate over the weekend. The World Health Organization (WHO) announced on Sunday that the situation was devastating and dangerous. However, they were able to re-establish contact with employees of the largest clinic in the area, the Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City. The constant shelling and bombing in the region had made the already critical conditions even worse. The number of deaths among patients has increased significantly. The clinic no longer functions as a hospital.
A Hamas government official said five premature babies and seven critically ill patients died at the Al-Shifa clinic. “We fear that the number of victims will continue to rise until morning,” Deputy Health Minister Yussef Abu Risch said on Sunday.
Israel accuses Hamas of setting up command centers under and near hospitals. Hamas denies this. She also rejected Israel’s accusations that she rejected 300 liters of fuel that was said to have been destined for Al-Shifa Hospital. At the same time, the Islamists criticize that the crowd is not even enough to run the hospital’s generators for more than thirty minutes. The Israeli military said it had dumped 300 liters of fuel outside the entrance to the hospital on Saturday night and offered to evacuate newborn babies. Both gestures were blocked by Hamas.
Three major UN organizations expressed horror at the situation in the hospitals. “The world cannot stand in silence as hospitals that should be safe havens turn into scenes of death, devastation and despair,” said WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. He joined calls for an immediate ceasefire.
Hundreds of fighters from the radical Islamic group Hamas entered Israel from the Gaza Strip on October 7th and committed atrocities once morest civilians in attacks on several towns and a music festival. According to Israeli reports, around 1,200 people were killed and around 240 people were taken hostage and deported to the Gaza Strip in the worst attack in the country’s history.
In response to the Hamas attack, Israel declared war on the Palestinian organization and has been attacking Islamist targets in the Gaza Strip ever since. According to information from the Hamas health authority in the Gaza Strip, which cannot be independently verified, more than 11,000 people have been killed in the sealed-off coastal strip since the start of the war. In the midst of fierce fighting between Israel and Hamas, concern for the people in the hospitals in the Gaza Strip had recently grown.
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