Keystone-SDA
Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) accuses Israel of waging a campaign of “ethnic cleansing” in the Gaza Strip, in a damning report released Thursday that documents the 14 months of conflict. HRW for its part accuses this country of “acts of genocide”.
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December 19, 2024 – 11:32
(Keystone-ATS) “We see clear signs of ethnic cleansing as Palestinians are forcibly displaced, trapped and bombed,” Christopher Lockyear, MSF secretary general, said in the report.
Entitled “Gaza: Life in a Death Trap”, the report documents in particular 41 attacks against MSF personnel, including air attacks on health establishments and direct fire on humanitarian convoys. The NGO was forced to evacuate hospitals and health centers 17 times.
“Extreme violence”, malnutrition on the rise
MSF highlights that the siege imposed by Israel has drastically reduced humanitarian aid, with only 37 trucks authorized daily in October 2024, compared to 500 before the conflict. The north of the territory, particularly the Jabalia camp, has suffered an offensive of “extreme violence” since the beginning of October.
The NGO’s medical teams carried out more than 27,500 consultations and 7,500 surgical interventions in one year. They note a rapid spread of diseases within a population that is 90% displaced and living in unsanitary conditions, with a worrying increase in cases of malnutrition.
Medical evacuations blocked
The organization also denounces the blockage of medical evacuations, with Israel having authorized only 1.6% of requests between May and September 2024. It calls for an immediate ceasefire and the lifting of the siege to allow transport massive humanitarian aid.
MSF also calls on “states, in particular Israel’s closest allies, to end their unconditional support for Israel.”
“Acts of genocide”
In a new report published Thursday, another NGO, Human Rights Watch (HRW), accuses Israel of committing “acts of genocide” in the Gaza Strip by deliberately restricting Palestinians’ access to water.
More than 45,000 Palestinians were killed in the Israeli military campaign of reprisals on the Gaza Strip, the majority civilians, according to data from the Hamas government’s Health Ministry for Gaza, deemed reliable by the UN.
The latest episode of the very long Israeli-Palestinian conflict, this war started after the Hamas attack on October 7 in Israel.
