Thirteen NGOs held a news conference, Thursday, in Paris to demand an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, after attending an international conference on humanitarian aid for the Gazan population, Anadolu Agency reports.
The conference that was organised by President Emmanuel Macron was aimed at mobilising the main players in the humanitarian response in Gaza and to determine concrete action to support the Palestinian residents.
Despite those aims, the NGOs expressed disappointment because of the lack of any real and effective measures for an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, which has been besieged for 17 years.“Disappointed with the speech at the Elysee as they called for a humanitarian pause only, and the €100 million ($107 million) that the French government promised to help Gaza did not fit the actual challenges to distribute it,” said Jean-François Corty, Vice-President of Medecins du Monde, or Doctors of the World.
“We all mourn the death of our team who used to work there. Thirty hospitals are unable to operate, and caregivers are exhausted where no place is secure, from north to south,” he said.
Corty noted the necessity of a ceasefire to provide food, water and medicine. He urged all countries to intervene and denounce crimes being committed against civilians.
The head of Amnesty International, Agnes Callamard, insisted that all political parties should be blamed, not humanitarian organisations.
“We are witnessing a global political crisis and pressure must be put on the United States in the first place,” she said.
Since the Israeli bombing does not differentiate between children, women and men among civilians, injuries and deaths have reached an unprecedented number.
At least 10,569 Palestinians, including 4,324 children and 2,823 women, have been killed.
The Israeli death toll, meanwhile, is nearly 1,600, according to official figures.
Source : MEMO
