Tel Aviv, Dec 22: The United Nations has warned that the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas is pushing the entire Gaza Strip towards an “imminent” famine. The Global Hunger Monitoring System, a UN-backed body, said that more than half a million population in the Gaza Strip were living in catastrophic conditions. It also said that it has been warning the warring factions that with destruction and deprivation of food and essential materials in the Gaza Strip, the situation is turning from bad to worse.
With conditions deteriorating in the enclave, the UN Security Council has been locked in negotiations on a resolution that would boost aid deliveries. Israel has been launching a large-scale offensive in Gaza to retaliate against a surprise Hamas attack on southern Israel on October 7 when about 1,200 people were killed and more than 200 were taken hostage, according to the Israeli tallies.
The death toll of Palestinians from Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip since October 7 has reached 20,000. The volume of aid materials including food materials arriving in the enclave came down in significantly thus leading to an extreme shortage of food materials in the Gaza.
Israeli advocacy
group files complaint against Red Cross
The Shurat HaDin – an Israeli advocacy group – has taken legal action against the International Committee of Red Cross (ICRC) accusing the humanitarian organisation of inaction over Israeli hostages held by Hamas in Gaza. The advocacy group – which fights legal battles worldwide on behalf of Israeli victims – filed the complaint in Jerusalem on behalf of families of 24 hostages.
The group has criticised the ICRC for allegedly failing to act to fulfil its mandate and moral duty to visit the kidnapped Israelis held as captives in Gaza.
“We cannot accept this disregard and disrespect for human lives, just because the hostages are Jewish,” Nitsana Darshan-Leitner, founder and President of Shurat HaDin said. She said that the ICRC is simply “biased” and “apathetic” to Israeli lives. “The ICRC was slow to intervene and did not act firmly to facilitate visits or try to supply the medicines required to the hostages,” she said.
Meanwhile, ICRC has said that the organisation is neutral and that the situation on ground is making it increasingly difficult to operate for the organisation. (IANS)
