Ambassador of the state of Palestine Dr Tamer Almassri
By George Swarei
Ambassador of the state of Palestine Dr Tamer Almassri has condemned Israeli occupation forces massacre of the staving Palestinian civilians waiting for the arrival of humanitarian aid trucks at the AL Nabulsi Roundabout in Gaza this morning and demanded an immediate ceasefire as the only way to protect civilians.
The attack which left at least 150 dead and over a 1000 wounded. Israel had premeditated intent to commit this horrific massacre, executing the victims deliberately within the framework of genocide and ethnic cleansing of the residents of the Gaza Strip.
The Israeli army was aware that these victims had come to this area to obtain food and aid, yet they killed them in cold blood. Israel is intentionally starving Palestinians and should be held accountable for war crimes and genocide. Hunger and severe malnutrition are widespread in the Gaza Strip, where about 2.2 million Palestinians are facing severe shortages resulting from Israel destroying food supplies and severely restricting the flow of food, medicines and other humanitarian supplies.
Meanwhile the Palestinian authority has accused Israel of committing a “hideous massacre, unprecedented in the history of war crimes” by firing on hundreds of civilians waiting for food aid.
In a statement, Almassri said the attack is part of Israel’s efforts to fully displace Palestinians from their land and “obliterate” the Palestinian cause.
This heinous massacre proves once again that the Israeli government does not give any attention to international law which demands the protection of civilians. The latest massacre is new evidence of genocide and the occupation policy to forcefully displace our people.
The worsening and continuing suffering of the Palestinian people at the hands of Israeli apartheid state reflects a moral and legal failure of the global system and of the countries that claim to be committed to peace, the two-state solution, and the principles of human rights.
Meanwhile following the latest attack the State of Palestine has called upon the League of Arab States and the UN Security Council to urgently convene and act to stop Israel’s “mass killing and ethnic cleansing in Gaza”.
The statement also urged all Arab countries to “break their silence” regarding “the genocide against our people” and immediately mobilise to bring food and medical aid into Gaza.
The statement also called for all people in Arab and Islamic nations and the free world to protest the “massacre of Palestinian people” and put pressure on their governments to take a stand against Israeli war crimes, and; the UN and the international community to fulfil their responsibilities to stop the “mass killing of our people” and to take measures to safely deliver emergency aid.
The Ambassador revealed that number of civilians killed since the start of the Israeli aggression on Gaza on October 7 has risen to 30 000 (70% are women and children),7000 are still under the rubble while 70,215 others were injured. Over 135 journalists, 152 UN staff have been killed, 90% of Gaza homes, government offices, UN facilities and hospital has been destroyed.
