Rights groups in Gaza refuse aid by air and sea, call it 'illusion'
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25 organizations have signed the petition to deliver aid by land and insisted that an immediate and permanent ceasefire was the only way to guarantee the deliveries.
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A member of the World Central Kitchen prepares a pallet with humanitarian aid at a warehouse near Larnaca, Cyprus, on Wednesday, March 13, 2024 (AP)
Human rights and humanitarian organizations in Gaza shut down attempts by the West to deliver aid by sea and air as an alternative to land transport, saying that a ceasefire was direly needed.
"States cannot hide behind airdrops and efforts to open a maritime corridor to create the illusion that they are doing enough to support the needs in Gaza: their primary responsibility is to prevent atrocity crimes from unfolding and apply effective political pressure to end the relentless bombardment and the restrictions which prevent the safe delivery of humanitarian aid," they said.
25 organizations, including Doctors Without Borders (MSF), Oxfam, and Amnesty International, signed the petition to deliver aid by land and insisted that an immediate and permanent ceasefire was the only way to guarantee the deliveries.
"After enduring five months of continuous bombardments and dehumanizing conditions, children, women and men in Gaza have the right to more than meager charity dropped from the sky," the organizations continued.
They also warned that the same countries dropping aid through the air are the same countries providing arms to "Israel", urging a halt to the military deliveries and focusing on a ceasefire instead, in addition to accountability for crimes against civilians on the ground.
Read next: Gaza airdrops take huge effort, don’t solve hunger crisis: WSJ
Meanwhile, Amnesty International's Secretary-General, Agnes Callamard, said that these attempts through sea and air are a sign of international powerlessness to stop the war, adding that no one is holding "Israel" accountable for the delays of land delivery.
This comes as foreign governments have turned to establishing a maritime corridor from Cyprus.
.@WCKitchen “Operation Safeena”, (boat,vessel) on its way! First trip to the shores of Gaza, learning. At the same time as @openarms_fund is moving, construction of the Jetty is well underway….we may fail, but the biggest failure will be not trying! Thank you to all that made it… pic.twitter.com/vKavoczEJN
— José Andrés 🇺🇸🇪🇸🇺🇦 (@chefjoseandres) March 12, 2024
"The international community must be prepared to hold Israel to account... We're not holding the stick that will allow for those violations to stop," she said, adding, "So the airdrops, the construction of a port, are a sign of powerlessness and weakness on the part of the international community."
"A huge concern is that the proposed investment into building a port and transporting humanitarian assistance via sea appears to indicate that the international community... are expecting the situation to last. Why are you making an investment that is going to take two months?," she continued.
"That is extremely worrisome. More than 30,000 people have died."
The Ministry of Health in Gaza reported today that the number of Palestinians killed by the Israeli occupation forces since October 7 has risen to 31,272, in addition to 73,024 injured.
The IOF committed 10 massacres against families in Gaza in the past 24 hours, killing 88 Palestinians and injuring 135 others, it added.
The Ministry stressed that many victims remain under the rubble, presumed dead, as the IOF are deliberately preventing ambulances and civil defense crews from reaching them.
It is worth noting that 72% of the Palestinian victims are women and children.
