MSF accuses UNSC of complicity in Gaza 'slaughter'
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MSF says the inaction on the part of the UNSC and member states in particular, such as the United States, "makes them complicit in the ongoing slaughter."
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A Palestinian woman cries as she carries her wounded son following an Israeli strike in al-Bureij refugee camp in Gaza on November 2, 2023. (AP)
Doctors Without Borders (MSF) has accused the UN Security Council of being complicit in the "slaughter in Gaza," adding that it must vote on Friday in favor of lifting the siege.
According to MSF, the UNSC must demand an immediate and lasting ceasefire, as well as unimpeded relief into Palestinian territories.
A vote to push for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza is due to be concluded today during a scheduled UN Security Council meeting after UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres invoked the UN charter’s Article 99 for it this week following the martyrdom of over 17,400 Palestinians in Gaza, predominantly being women and children.
In a statement, MSF asserted that the inaction on the part of the UNSC and member states in particular, such as the United States, makes them "complicit in the ongoing slaughter; this inaction has given license to the mass killing of men, women, and children."
Calling the trickle of aid entering the Strip "insultingly insufficient," MSF added that "history will judge the delay in ending this slaughter; basic humanity demands action," stressing that the scale of loss and grief unlike the physical damage that will require years of support "may never be assuaged."
MSF reported Wednesday that from December 1 to 7, 1,149 patients were admitted to Gaza's Al-Aqsa Hospital's emergency ward, with 350 of them immediately dying on arrival.
According to the report, "the hospital received more dead patients than injured patients."
MSF International Secretary General Christopher Lockyear emphasized the desperation that people feel to receive food due to the "cruel siege"
"Failure to act now, to enact a total ceasefire and end the siege, would be unforgivable."
On his part, the director of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) called for an urgent humanitarian ceasefire in the Gaza Strip to stop the "decimation" of Palestinian life.
Philippe Lazzarini asked all UN member states to "take immediate actions to implement an immediate humanitarian ceasefire."
