The Palestinian Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr Abdullah Abu Shawesh has called on the US to show more commitment to bringing an end to the war in Gaza.
Shawesh, who made this known on a press statement in Abuja, said the airdrop of food by the US was insignificant compared to the humanitarian situation in Gaza.
He quoted Associated Press, saying the US had announced that “Three planes from Air Forces Central dropped 66 bundles containing about 38,000 meals into Gaza using three airplanes …..
“The bundles were dropped in southwest Gaza.”
Shawesh said, “in this connection, I would like to raise the following points:
The United States of America supplied Israel with more than a ton of explosives for every meal it dropped on Gaza.
“In northern Gaza alone, there are 700,000 starving Palestinians, and they dropped these meals in south Gaza, which means they deliberately neglected the most urgent needs in the North.
“I want to remind the US administration that a shipment of flour, financed by Americans, is still stuck at the Israeli sea port of Ashdod due to an Israeli minister’s decision.
“The US has done nothing to deliver it to the UNRWA, its intended recipient.
“The US airdrop cannot replace the critical role of UNRWA in supplying the Palestinian refugees with the necessary and urgent needs.
“It’s time to stop aligning itself with the Israeli occupation in suffocating and dismantling this UN body
The ambassador said, before the war, Gaza required 500 trucks daily, adding that, the war drastically increased the need.
“The current number of trucks entering Gaza is insufficient to meet the urgent needs. .
“No one is safe until everyone is safe.
He called for further action to end the war.
“Peace can be reached if and only if Israel recognises the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination, a fundamental and basic human right.
“As of March 4, 16 infants have died due to severe malnutrition and drought resulting from the strict Israeli military blockade and the war of starvation policy it imposed.
“The UN Women issued seven facts prove that the war on Gaza is also a war on women and I would like to quote the following
“An estimated 9,000 women have been reportedly killed by Israeli forces in Gaza to date.
“This figure is likely an underestimate, as many more women are reported to be dead under the rubble.
“Every day the war in Gaza continues. At the current rate, an average of 63 women will continue to be killed.*
“An estimated 37 mothers are killed every day, leaving their families devastated and their children with diminished protection.
“More than four out of five women, 84 per cent, report that their family eats half or less of the food they used to before the war began.
“With mothers and adult women being those tasked with sourcing food, yet eating last, less, and least than everyone else.”
Shawesh further said that, “As of today, 12 Palestinian prisoners have been killed in the last 153 days, including Ahmad Qadeeh, a 78-year-old who was detained with his family on February 7 and subjected to torture.
“Regarding the Gazan prisoners, according to Haaretz, the Israeli Newspaper, “27 Gaza detainees have died in custody at Israeli military facilities since the outbreak of the war, according to figures obtained by Haaretz.”
He also said, “The EU describes firing by the Israeli soldiers against the Palestinian civilians unjustifiable where more than hundred civilians were killed and many others wounded when desperately trying to get food from a convoy,
“The EU request for impartial international investigation on this tragic event allowing for a clear picture of the event and responsibilities.
“The EU stress that it’s the Israeli responsibility to comply with the rules of international law and to protect the distribution of humanitarian aid to civilian population.
“Stephan Dujarric the UNSG spokesperson said “The Secretary-General is appalled by the tragic human toll of the conflict in Gaza, in which more than 30,000 people have now reportedly been killed and over 70,000 injured.
“Tragically, an unknown number of people lie under the rubble.
“The Secretary-General condemns the incident today in northern Gaza in which more than a hundred people were reportedly killed or injured while seeking life-saving aid.”
Shawesh added that the war, “pushed 85% of Gaza’s population into internal displacement amid acute shortages of food, clean water and medicine, while 60% of the enclave’s infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.
“As expected, the United States vetoed a Security Council statement drafted regarding this new round of slaughter.”
“Under the title “Israel Defying ICJ Ruling to Prevent Genocide by Failing to Allow Adequate Humanitarian Aid to Reach Gaza,” Amnesty International accuses the occupying power, Israel, of not abiding by the ICJ provisional measures.
“Time and time again, Israel has failed to take the bare minimum steps humanitarians have desperately pleaded for that are clearly within its power to alleviate the suffering of Palestinian civilians in Gaza,” …
“As the occupying power, under international law, Israel has a clear obligation to ensure the basic needs of Gaza’s population are met.
“srael has not only woefully failed to provide for Gazans’ basic needs, but it has also been blocking and impeding the passage of sufficient aid into the Gaza Strip, in particular to the north which is virtually inaccessible.
“In a clear show of contempt for the ICJ ruling and in flagrant violation of its obligation to prevent genocide.”…
“The scale and gravity of the humanitarian catastrophe caused by Israel’s relentless bombardment, destruction and suffocating siege puts more than two million Palestinians of Gaza at risk of irreparable harm.”