Humanity Is Failing, Situation In Gaza Now Worse Than Hell: Red Cross Chief

1. Humanity Is Failing, Situation In Gaza Now Worse Than Hell: Red Cross Chief

Humanity is failing in Gaza, warned Mirjana Spoljaric, president of the International Committee of the Red Cross, according to whom it is becoming unbearable to watch the suffering of the people unfold daily in the war-torn Palestinian region. The situation has "gone beyond any acceptable legal, moral, and humane standards", she said in an interview to the BBC.

A few weeks ago, during her visit to Gaza, the anguished Red Cross chief had remarked that Gaza has become hell on Earth. Speaking to BBC's Jeremy Bowen on Tuesday, she said "Gaza is now worse than hell".

Amid reports of mass sickness, widespread starvation, children howling with hunger, and rising piles of the dead, the International Red Cross chief said, "We cannot continue to watch what is happening in Gaza. We can no longer watch the level of suffering and destruction. The fact that we are watching a people being entirely stripped of its human dignity, should really shock our collective conscience."

She went on say that the horrors being seen in Gaza today "is the consequence of the whole world (silently) watching a type of warfare that shows utmost disrespect for civilians - that deprives civilians of their dignity entirely."

Appealing to Israel's leadership to act swiftly and take corrective action, Ms Spoljaric said, "Today we are in it, today we can reverse it...we can save lives today. That's why it is important to act now. State leaders are under an obligation to act" to save innocent lives and preserve human dignity. "I am calling on them to do something...to do more...to do whatever they can, because it will reverberate. It will haunt them. It will (someday) reach their doorsteps," a visibly grim Red Cross chief said.

On a question by the BBC about Israel saying that its actions in Gaza are "in self defence", Ms Spoljaric said, "Every State has a right to defend itself, and every mother has the right to see her children return home. There is no excuse for hostage-taking, but there is also no excuse for depriving children from their access to food, health, and security."

She added that "There are rules in the conduct of hostilities that every party to every conflict must respect."

According to the World Health Organisation, "The risk of famine in Gaza is increasing." The WHO report, which was released three weeks ago, noted that "The entire 2.1 million population of Gaza is facing prolonged food shortages, with nearly half a million people in a catastrophic situation of hunger, acute malnutrition, starvation, illness and death. This is one of the world's worst hunger crises, unfolding in real time."

"We do not need to wait for a declaration of famine in Gaza to know that people are already starving, sick and dying, while food and medicines are minutes away across the border," WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus had said.

Though Israel says it has eased its blockade over the Gaza strip, Gazans are still reportedly without food or water. Children, malnourished and starving, are found scavenging the streets to find any consumables. "If the situation persists, nearly 71 000 children under the age of five are expected to be acutely malnourished over the next eleven months," according to the WHO report.

The Red Cross is an international organisation that operates in war zones. In Gaza, it has more than 300 staff, most of whom are Palestinians. Red Cross is considered the custodian of the Geneva Conventions in war zones and is there is protect civilians during conflict.

The war in Gaza began after Palestinian militant group Hamas carried out a terrorist attack in Israel on October 7, 2023, killing more than 1,200 Israeli nationals and taking over 250 civilians hostage. This was the deadliest attack on Jews since the Holocaust. In its response, Israel declared war on Hamas, which is spread across Gaza.

In its retaliation, Israel has so far killed several top militants of Hamas, including successive chiefs of the Iran-backed militant group, which also governs the Gaza strip. In the 20-month war so far, more than 56,000 Gazans have lost their lives. The international community has urged Israel to end the war, which, many have said, has already seen a "grossly disproportionate response" by Israel.

Israel has repeatedly said that it is only acting in self defence and blames Hamas for using civilians as their shield in Gaza. However, the Red Cross chief has said that there is no justification for current events of starvation and disease. She also noted that Israel's latest talk about "victory at all costs", especially in these times, is deeply concerning.