By ESTHER ALEXANDER, Abuja –
Palestinian Ministry of Health on Sunday said about 32,200 Palestinians have been killed by the Israeli occupation forces. Among the victims, 72% were women (around 8,800) and children (approximately 13,750).
Additionally, around 74,500 Palestinians have been injured, with a majority being women and children. It is estimated that more than 8,100 people are missing under the rubble.
This is contained in a statement issued to newsmen in Abuja by the Palestinian Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr. Abdullah M. Abu Shawesh.
Mr. Abu Shawesh said the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) targeted Al-Shifa hospital, resulting in injuries and fatalities among patients, medical staff, and internally displaced persons seeking shelter there.
“At least 27 civilians, including 23 children and elderly individuals, died due to dehydration and malnutrition at Kamal Adwan Hospital in North Gaza. To add insult to injury, the Israeli occupation used to deny the entry of an entire truckloads due to a single rejected item on it, take into consideration that there is no official Israeli list of restricted items”, he said.
The statement which was titled: “On the 174 day of the frenzy genocidal war against the Palestinian people”, reads in part:
“As of Monday, 25 March, the number of Palestinians arrested in the past 6 months are 7770 in the Occupied West Bank. This includes 250 women, including Palestinian women arrested from the 1948 land, as well as Gazan women who have been arrested in the OWB. Additionally, 500 children and 23 journalists have been sentenced to administrative detention, with more than 4400 administrative detention orders issued.
“Detention campaigns are accompanied by brutal beatings, vandalism, destruction of detainees houses, and confiscation of gold and money.
“As of 20 March, up to 1.7 million Palestinians (over 75 per cent of the population) have been displaced across the Gaza Strip, the majority multiple times. Families are forced to move repeatedly in search of safety. Following intense Israeli bombardments and fighting in Khan Younis and the Middle Area in recent weeks, a significant number of displaced people have moved further south.
“Malnutrition among children is spreading fast and reaching devastating and unprecedented levels in the Gaza Strip due to the wide-reaching impacts of the war and ongoing restrictions on aid delivery.
“4.5 per cent of the children in shelters and health centers suffer from severe wasting, the most life-threatening form of malnutrition, which puts children at highest risk of medical complications and death unless they receive urgent therapeutic feeding and treatment, which is not available. The prevalence of acute malnutrition among children under 5 years of age in the north has increased from 13% to as high as 25%.
“The Israeli occupation government has issued a military order to confiscate 8,000 dunums (1,977 acres) of occupied Palestinian land for the benefit of colonial settlers and settlement projects. This is not the first time that fertile Palestinian land in the Jordan Valley has been confiscated as part of a long-standing attempt to exert full control over the Jordan Valley and prevent the establishment of a contiguous Palestinian state.
“Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor has documented several consistent testimonies regarding the Israeli army’s deliberate use of Palestinian civilians as human shields against their will, and forcing them into dangerous situations to secure and protect its forces and military operations inside the Shifa Medical Complex in. This has been ongoing since early Monday morning.
“On Friday, March 22, the USA presented a resolution before the Security Council, which did not pass due to a veto. In this regard, and despite many other criticisms, I would like to highlight the following points:
“So all what you hear on the media about the ceasefire resolution is spout empty words. The US resolution fail to call for an immediate ceasefire that the secretary of state Blinken theorize for it on the media day before table it on the security council as the magic stack to put an end to the human suffering in Gaza.
“The US resolution fell short of condemning the ongoing Israeli massacre against the Palestinian people. Instead, it gave Israel the green light to continue its textbook genocide.
“The US resolution emprise and incubated all the Israeli claims about Oct 7 even before any independent fact finding mission or inquiry mission established by independent intergovernmental body to come with final report on what happened on that day.
“The US resolution mentioned the 132 Israeli hostages in Gaza but did not say a word about the more than 7,000 abducted and hostage Palestinians in Israeli concentration camps and prisons, all of whom are subjected to torture, degradation, and ill-treatment, resulting in the deaths of 12 of them so far. This is a clear form of racism and white supremacy, prioritizing the lives of Israelis over the lives of Palestinians.
“The US resolution deliberately did not mention any single words on the UN body, UNRWA, which is the most expert and capable body to tackle the humanitarian crises in Gaza, in clear complicity to support the Israeli occupation request to dismantle it. When it came to the humanitarian assistance to the Palestinian no one can deny the crucial role that the UNRWA played since Al-Nakba 1948.
“It is important to note that the US Congress voted not to resume funding for UNRWA until at least 2025, a move welcomed by Israel, which declared that the UN agency will not be part of Gaza’s future.
“The US did not mention Israel the occupation power except one time in the context of the two state solution.
“On Monday, March 25, the Security Council adopted the Resolution 2728 calling for an immediate ceasefire during the month of Ramadan. While the ink on the resolution is not yet dry, Israeli cannon barrels are still firing and claiming more innocent Palestinian lives. On a practical level, this means Israel has turned its back on the Security Council. Israeli pushback on the UN ceasefire resolution, and the war minister Yoav Gallant said Israel has no moral right to stop the war in Gaza.
“The Israeli occupation authorities have continued their aggression, restrictions, and repressive measures in the occupied West Bank since the beginning of the holy month of Ramadan. They have deployed more than 24 military battalions there, imposed a comprehensive siege, cut off ties with partial sieges on all regions and towns, deployed over 750 checkpoints, installed more iron gates, and forced citizens to travel on bumpy roads that consume their time and money. This has turned Palestinian life into an unbearable hell.
“In another step towards dismantling UNRWA, the main lifeline for Palestinian refugees, and obstructing the implementation of its mandate, Israel the occupying power, has blocked UNRWA from delivering life-saving assistance to northern Gaza. Israel also has notified the United Nations that it will no longer authorize UNRWA food convoys to access the north Gaza Strip.
“UNRWA is the largest organization with the highest capacity to reach displaced communities in Gaza. By preventing UNRWA to fulfill its mandate in Gaza, the clock is tick faster towards famine and many more will die of hunger, dehydration and lack of shelter.
Leave a Reply