Global Aid Organizations Urge Immediate Action to Halve Israel’s Genocidal Acts
Leading humanitarian organizations, including MSF, Islamic Relief, and Save the Children, have issued a joint appeal for global leaders to take urgent measures to halt what a United Nations commission has identified as genocide by Israel in Gaza. The commission’s findings, marking the first time such a determination has been made regarding Israel’s actions in Gaza, emphasize the severity of the situation and the need for immediate intervention.
These aid agencies, representing over 20 organizations operating in Gaza, are sounding the alarm after approximately 65,000 Palestinians, including over 20,000 children, have lost their lives due to Israeli airstrikes. They caution that nearly one million more individuals are teetering on the edge of an even more catastrophic phase if no action is taken.
The organizations decried the extreme humanitarian crisis, warning that Israel’s recent attempts to displace the population of Gaza City through ground operations are designed to render the city uninhabitable. Emphasizing the grave reality, they highlight the plight of over half-a-million people facing starvation amidst spreading famine, with daily deaths attributed to hunger and physical deprivation.
Despite the compelling evidence of the atrocities suffered by the Palestinian population under Israel’s prolonged siege and enforced starvation, global leaders have been slow to act. The aid groups contend that mere rhetoric and half-measures are inadequate, advocating instead for decisive action from world leaders using all available political, economic, and legal means at their disposal.
The aid organizations, including Doctors Without Borders (Médecins Sans Frontières), Islamic Relief Worldwide, ActionAid International, CARE International, and others, argue that the international community’s response will be criticized as complicity if they fail to act. This, they assert, would set a dangerous precedent for the future.
Christopher Lockyear, the Secretary-General of MSF and a signatory to the joint statement, unequivocally stated that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza with impunity, targeting the population and overlooking all international humanitarian laws.
The UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, chaired by Navi Pillay, formally concluded that Israel’s actions in Gaza constitute genocide, implicating key Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, former Minister of Defence Yoav Gallant, and President Isaac Herzog, for their roles in these acts.
In response, Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs dismissed the report as “fake,” alleging that the commission’s authors act as “Hamas proxies.” This denial underscores the controversial nature of the ongoing conflict and the 생명 urgency for a peaceful resolution to the crisis in Gaza.