Israel creating conditions for intentional humanitarian catastrophe to eradicate Palestinians from Gaza

(Patria) - Doctors Without Borders stated yesterday that Israel has created conditions for an "intentional humanitarian catastrophe" in the Gaza Strip, accusing it of attempting to condition humanitarian aid to the enclave by forcibly displacing its population.

"We are witnessing firsthand the creation of conditions for the eradication of Palestinians from Gaza," the NGO stated.

Israel has been blocking humanitarian aid from entering the enclave since March 2, after negotiations for the extension of the ceasefire reached on January 19 failed, writes AFP.

The blockade has caused shortages of food and medicine, exacerbating the already dire situation in the Gaza Strip. Israel rejects UN warnings about the starvation of Palestinians.

Doctors Without Borders stated that their medical teams in Gaza have "observed a 32 percent increase in patients with symptoms of malnutrition" in the past two weeks.

They note that reduced fuel supplies are limiting the capacity for desalination and water distribution.

"Health facilities that are still functioning - already insufficient in number and capacity - continue to be attacked, and they are also struggling with shortages of medicines and other essential supplies," said the Geneva-based organization.

They also warn that their "teams in Gaza have not received any supplies for eleven weeks, and are facing shortages of basic medical products such as sterile gauze and gloves".

Doctors Without Borders rejects the US proposal, also supported by Israel, to establish a new organization to manage aid distribution in Gaza.

They consider this to be marginalizing the UN and existing humanitarian organizations, and handing over control to Israel.

"The US and Israeli proposal to control the distribution of supplies, under the guise of humanitarian aid, raises serious humanitarian, ethical, security, and legal concerns.

Conditioning aid with the forced displacement of the population is another tool in the current campaign of ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian population.

We firmly reject and condemn any proposal that further reduces the availability of aid and subordinates it to the goals of the Israeli military occupation," the doctors stated.

They call on the UN, EU member states, and all those who have influence on Israel to urgently use their political and economic leverage to stop the instrumentalization of aid.