By: Mercy Peter
Abdullah Shawesh, Ambassador of the Embassy of the State of Palestine to Nigeria has expressed concern over the move by Israel to stifle the media in Gaza.
Shawesh said the ban on the Palestinian Broadcasting Corporation by the Israeli authorities is part of the plan to silent the voice of truth.
He therefore called on the international community to condmned the action.
The envoy who briefed a section of the media in Abuja on Thursday said, “Another Israeli attempt to stifle the voice of truth, as it bans the Palestinian Broadcasting Corporation (PBC) from operating in the occupied East Jerusalem and the 1948 territories. We strongly condemn this move and consider it another way for Israel to commit its daily crimes in the occupied East Jerusalem (OEJ) away from the scrutiny of cameras.
“We call for all concerned human rights institutions, including the International Federation of Journalists, to denounce and condemn this crime.
“In the first Friday prayer of the holy month of Ramadan, the occupation force blocked the Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) teams from entering the courtyard of Al-Aqsa Mosque to provide medical services to the worshipers, in a grave violation of international law and international humanitarian law.”
Shawesh also raised concern over the presence of explosive materials hidden under the rubble i Gaza.
He said that explosive materiale are hidden everywhere and no where seems to be safe.
The envoy said, “Another life-threatening issue for Gazans today is the presence of remaining explosive materials hidden under the rubble, on the streets, and everywhere else.
“Mine action partners are currently conducting assessments of the explosive threat and educating Gazans on how to avoid it. “
Shawesh also quoted OCHA which stated that “Larger-scale assessments are urgently required, but response efforts have been hampered by restrictions on the import of humanitarian mine action supplies and authorization requirements for the deployment of specialized personnel.”
The envoy also decried the level.pf fermine in Gaza as a result of the blockade of aids coming in.
EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said at the opening of a conference on humanitarian aid for Gaza in Brussels. “In Gaza we are no longer on the brink of famine, we are in a state of famine, affecting thousands of people,”….”This is unacceptable. Starvation is used as a weapon of war. Israel is provoking famine.”
Malnutrition is a devastating threat to lives across Gaza, as evidenced by the UN published report on March 15, 2024. Where “one in three children under two in the Northern Gaza Strip suffer from acute malnutrition… Malnutrition among the children is spreading fast and reaching devastating and unprecedented levels……
He said, “At least 23 children in Northern Gaza Strip have reportedly died from malnutrition and dehydration in recent weeks, adding to a mounting toll of children killed in the strip in this current conflict- about 13,450
…..Nutrition screening conducted by UNICEF and partners in the north in February found that 4.5 per cent of the children in shelters and health centers suffer from severe wasting, the most life threatening from the malnutrition”
He stressed that in the last 167 days that Gaza has been enduring suffering.
Shawesh backed up the claim with the quote from UN Secretary General António Guterres, who said, “Palestinians in Gaza are enduring horrifying levels of hunger and suffering … This is the highest number of people facing catastrophic hunger ever recorded …anywhere, anytime”
UN human rights chief Volker Türk insisted that “hunger, starvation and famine” were the result of Israel’s “extensive restrictions on the entry and distribution of humanitarian aid and commercial goods”
Shawesh added that “100% of the population in Gaza is at severe levels of acute food insecurity. That’s the first time an entire population has been so classified.”
He also said that “As of Wednesday, March 20, the death toll reached 31,819 Palestinian martyrs, with 73,934 injured and nearly 8,500 missing. There are 700,000 internally displaced persons taking refuge in only 20% of the Gaza Strip. In the Occupied West Bank, there have been 436 martyrs and more than 4,670 injured.”
He also raised concern over the health condition of 1000 to 1500 kidney failure patients in the Gaza Strip.
Shawesh said their cases are rapidly worsening due to the lack of medical services, medication, and other necessities.
He also said that the Palestinian unemployment rate set to soar to 57% during first quarter of 2024.
Another life-threatening issue for Gazans today is the presence of remaining explosive materials hidden under the rubble, on the streets, and everywhere else. Mine action partners are currently conducting assessments of the explosive threat and educating Gazans on how to avoid it. According to OCHA “Larger-scale assessments are urgently required, but response efforts have been hampered by restrictions on the import of humanitarian mine action supplies and authorization requirements for the deployment of specialized personnel.”
EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said at the opening of a conference on humanitarian aid for Gaza in Brussels. “In Gaza we are no longer on the brink of famine, we are in a state of famine, affecting thousands of people,”….”This is unacceptable. Starvation is used as a weapon of war. Israel is provoking famine.”
Malnutrition is a devastating threat to lives across Gaza, as evidenced by the UN published report on March 15, 2024. Where “one in three children under two in the Northern Gaza Strip suffer from acute malnutrition… Malnutrition among the children is spreading fast and reaching devastating and unprecedented levels…… at least 23 children in Northern Gaza Strip have reportedly died from malnutrition and dehydration in recent weeks, adding to a mounting toll of children killed in the strip in this current conflict- about 13450…..Nutrition screening conducted by UNICEF and partners in the north in February found that 4.5 per cent of the children in shelters and health centers suffer from severe wasting, the most life threatening from the malnutrition”
According the Euro Med Human Right Watch “The Israeli army has systematically targeted dozens of programmers, information technology experts, and workers in computer engineering, in addition to destroying the headquarters of their companies, as part of the ongoing crime of genocide in the Gaza Strip since 7 October 2023.”
According to the UNRWA report 91, “Middle Areas and Khan Younis, where screenings conducted for the first time in Khan Younis, in the central Gaza Strip, revealed that 28 per cent of children under the age of two were acutely malnourished and more than 10 per cent severely wasted. Malnourished children in Gaza are also at high risk of medical complications and death if they do not receive urgent therapeutic food and appropriate treatment which are currently unavailable in Gaza”
“Only 2 percent of the food needed has entered Gaza since the blockade was imposed.”
