{"id":426274,"date":"2024-02-21T21:04:43","date_gmt":"2024-02-21T21:04:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/haftavasool.com\/haftavasool\/blog\/2024\/02\/21\/statement-by-principals-of-the-inter-agency-standing-committee-iasc-civilians-in-gaza-in-extreme-peril-while-the-world-watches-on\/"},"modified":"2024-02-21T21:04:43","modified_gmt":"2024-02-21T21:04:43","slug":"statement-by-principals-of-the-inter-agency-standing-committee-iasc-civilians-in-gaza-in-extreme-peril-while-the-world-watches-on","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/haftavasool.com\/haftavasool\/blog\/2024\/02\/21\/statement-by-principals-of-the-inter-agency-standing-committee-iasc-civilians-in-gaza-in-extreme-peril-while-the-world-watches-on\/","title":{"rendered":"Statement by Principals of the Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC): Civilians in Gaza in extreme peril while the world watches on"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\n<\/p>\n

\n

In the less than five months that followed the
\nbrutal 7 October attacks and the ensuing escalation, tens of thousands
\nof Palestinians \u2013 mostly women and children \u2013 have been killed and
\ninjured in the Gaza Strip.\u00a0More than three quarters of the population
\nhave been forced from their homes, many multiple times, and face severe
\nshortages of food, water, sanitation and healthcare \u2013 the basic
\nnecessities to survive.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The
\nhealth system continues to be systematically degraded, with
\ncatastrophic consequences.\u00a0As of 19 February, only 12 out of 36
\nhospitals with inpatient capacity are still functioning, and only
\npartially. There have been more than 370 attacks on health care in Gaza
\nsince 7 October.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Diseases
\nare rampant. Famine is looming. Water is at a trickle. Basic
\ninfrastructure has been decimated. Food production has come to a
\nhalt.\u00a0Hospitals have turned into battlefields. One million children face
\ndaily traumas.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Rafah,
\nthe latest destination for well over 1 million displaced, hungry and
\ntraumatized people crammed into a small sliver of land, has become
\nanother battleground in this brutal conflict. Further escalation of
\nviolence in this densely populated area would cause mass casualties. It
\ncould also deal a death blow to a humanitarian response that is already
\non its knees.\u00a0<\/p>\n

There is no safe place in Gaza.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Humanitarian
\nworkers, themselves displaced and facing shelling, death, movement
\nrestrictions and a breakdown of civil order, continue efforts to deliver
\nto those in need. But faced with so many obstacles \u2013 including safety
\nand movement restrictions \u2013 they can only do so much.\u00a0<\/p>\n

No
\namount of humanitarian response will make up for the months of
\ndeprivation that families in Gaza have endured.\u00a0This is our effort to
\nsalvage the humanitarian operation so that we can provide, at the very
\nleast, the bare essentials:\u00a0medicine, drinking water, food, and shelter
\nas temperatures plummet.<\/p>\n

For this, we need:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. An immediate ceasefire.<\/li>\n
  2. Civilians and the infrastructure they rely on to be protected.<\/li>\n
  3. The hostages to be released immediately.<\/li>\n
  4. Reliable entry points that would allow us to bring aid in from all possible crossings, including to northern Gaza.\u00a0<\/li>\n
  5. Security
    \nassurances and unimpeded passage to distribute aid, at scale, across
    \nGaza, with no denials, delays and access impediments.<\/li>\n
  6. A
    \nfunctioning humanitarian notification system that allows all
    \nhumanitarian staff and supplies to move within Gaza and deliver aid
    \nsafely. <\/li>\n
  7. Roads to be passable and neighbourhoods to be cleared of explosive ordnance. <\/li>\n
  8. A stable communication network that allows humanitarians to move safely and securely.\u00a0 <\/li>\n
  9. UNRWA (1)<\/em> , the backbone of the humanitarian operations in Gaza, to receive the resources it needs to provide life-saving assistance. <\/li>\n
  10. A
    \nhalt to campaigns that seek to discredit the United Nations and
    \nnon-governmental organizations doing their best to save lives.\u00a0\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Humanitarian agencies remain committed, despite the risks. But they cannot be left to pick up the pieces.\u00a0<\/p>\n

    We\u00a0are
    \ncalling on Israel to fulfil its legal obligation, under international
    \nhumanitarian and human rights law, to provide food and medical supplies
    \nand facilitate aid operations,\u00a0and on the world\u2019s leaders to prevent an
    \neven worse catastrophe from happening.<\/p>\n

    Signatories:<\/strong><\/p>\n