By George Swarei
In a brazen breach of international law, Israeli forces have besieged the few operational medical facilities in Gaza, including Al-Shifa, Al Amal, and Nasser Hospitals. Once places of healing, these hospitals now resemble battlefields, with Israel targeting, abducting, and killing medical personnel and patients alike. Gaza’s entire healthcare system teeters on the brink due to chronic shortages of vital medical supplies exacerbated by Israel’s blockade and indiscriminate bombings.
Among the most horrifying tactics employed in the recent hospital raids is the Israeli forces’ practice of separating Palestinian men from their families and subjecting them to various forms of abuse, torture, and extrajudicial killings. International law unequivocally mandates the protection of patients, healthcare workers, and civilians.
Furthermore, reports indicate Israel’s use of captured Palestinian men as human shields, both inside hospitals and elsewhere. Nurses are coerced at gunpoint to guide Israeli soldiers through hospital rooms, while others are positioned around Israeli tanks as shields against potential attacks.
Ambassador of the state of Palestine to Zimbabwe Tamer Almassri has welcomed the passing of a United Nations Security Council resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, urging swift implementation to safeguard innocent civilian lives.
Hunger and malnutrition continue to plague Gaza’s population, particularly in the north. The international community must coordinate efforts to deliver humanitarian, relief, and medical aid across all crossings to alleviate the famine inflicted upon Palestinians by ongoing aggression.
Ambassador Almassri reaffirms Palestine’s firm rejection of the displacement of any Palestinian citizen, whether in Gaza, the West Bank, or East Jerusalem. He asserts that Gaza remains an integral part of the Palestinian state, denouncing any attempts by occupation authorities to sever it from the rest of Palestinian territory or seize its land as unacceptable and worthy of resistance.
