Palestine ambassador calls for help as war rages in Gaza
PALESTINE ambassador to Zimbabwe Dr Tamer Almassri has condemned the targeting of places of worship, civilian houses, schools, government buildings and hospitals in the Gaza Strip by Israel.
It is reported that Israel has also cut off electricity, water and food supplies to millions living in the Gaza Strip, in retaliation to the infiltration by Hamas freedom fighters.
In a statement, Dr Almassri said: “Before this ongoing aggression, Gaza children needed the construction of 89 schools.
“Today, 164 schools have been destroyed in just 14 days.”
He added: “Similarly, attacks on hospitals like Al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza, which resulted in hundreds of civilian deaths, is a flagrant violation of international humanitarian law.
“Hospitals must be sanctuaries to preserve human lives, not scenes of death and destruction.
“Forty-four paramedics have also been killed in these attacks.”
He said the number of internally displaced people across the Gaza Strip is estimated at around one million, adding that the death toll of the brutal Israeli aggression in the Gaza Strip had risen to 4 137, with 14 000 others injured.
Dr Almassri said an estimated 50 000 pregnant women in Gaza are in desperate need of prenatal and postnatal care.
He urged the international community to take action on what is currently taking place in the Gaza Strip.
“There are no justifications or exceptions for such crimes.
“We are appalled by the inaction of the international community in the face of belligerent war-mongering.
“We warn colonial powers that this conflict will escalate to a regional war which can destabilise the world,” he said.
Dr Almassri said the occupation should end, and there must be reparation, restitution and reconstruction, towards full justice for Palestinians.
He said the state of Palestine reiterates that the Israeli military war on Gaza and settler assaults on its people in the occupied West Bank will not force them to leave their country for any other part of the world, including the proposed Sinai.
“Palestinian people will fight for their legitimate rights and establish their state, with Jerusalem as the capital,” said Dr Almassri.