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Red Cross chief describes humanitarian situation in Gaza as hell on earth

Red Cross chief describes humanitarian situation in Gaza as hell on earth

Egypt Today12-04-2025

Gaza under Israeli aggression - file
CAIRO - 12 April 2025: The head of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Mirjana Spoljaric Egger, described the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip as "hell on earth," warning that supplies at the organization's field hospital would run out within two weeks, Palestinian news agency (WAFA) said on Saturday. "We now find ourselves in a situation I would have to describe as hell on earth," Spoljaric said from the organization's Geneva headquarters. "People have no access to water, electricity, or food in many areas." She added that supplies were dangerously low. "For six weeks, nothing has entered, so within two weeks we will run out of the supplies we need to keep the hospital running." The World Health Organization (WHO) said that supplies of antibiotics and blood bags were rapidly running out. Richard Peeperkorn, the WHO representative in the Palestinian territories, told reporters in Geneva via video link from Jerusalem that 22 of the 36 hospitals in the Strip were operating at a minimum level. The ICRC president also expressed concern about the safety of humanitarian operations.
"Moving people is extremely dangerous, but it is particularly dangerous for our work," Spoljaric said.

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This relationship ruptured completely in the aftermath of the October 7 attack. Israel's parliament subsequently banned UNRWA from operating in the country, making any UN-led humanitarian efforts extremely difficult. Both Israel and the US had also accused Hamas of stealing aid distributed by the UN. Hamas has rejected those claims, and humanitarian aid organizations say most of the food aid reaches civilians. The UN has refused to participate in the new Gaza aid initiative, saying that GHF model violates some basic humanitarian principles. It warned that locating the initial distribution points only in southern and central Gaza could be perceived as encouraging Israel's publicly stated goal of depopulating northern Gaza. GHF has said it is working to open new sites, including in northern Gaza, but no such distribution points have yet opened. What has been happening recently? There is not enough food for everyone who needs it. 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Stringer/AFP/Getty Images At the time, the Israeli military said its forces 'did not fire at civilians while they were near or within' the aid site, but an Israeli military source acknowledged that Israeli forces fired toward individuals about a kilometer away, before the aid site opened. GHF said on Sunday that none of the gunfire was in the distribution center itself or the surrounding area. After Tuesday's shooting, the organization directed questions about shootings near the aid site to the IDF. 'This was an area well beyond our secure distribution site. We recognize the tragic nature of the situation and remain committed to ensuring the safety of all civilians during humanitarian operations at all of our sites,' GHF said in a statement. What has the reaction been? There has been widespread international condemnation, particularly from the UN. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Monday he was 'appalled' by the reports of deaths and injuries on Sunday. 'It is unacceptable that Palestinians are risking their lives for food,' Guterres said in a statement, calling for 'an immediate and independent investigation' into the events and 'for perpetrators to be held accountable.' The UN human rights chief, Volker Turk, said on Tuesday that Palestinians have been given 'the grimmest of choices: die from starvation or risk being killed while trying to access the meagre food that is being made available through Israel's militarized humanitarian assistance mechanism.' In a post on X, Philippe Lazzarini, executive director of UNRWA, also slammed the new mechanism, saying: 'aid distribution has become a death trap. Mass casualties including scores of injured & killed among starving civilians due to gunshots this morning. This is according to reports from international medics on ground.' The European Union's foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, last week criticized the new aid mechanism run by GHF, saying the EU does not support 'any kind of privatization of the distribution of humanitarian aid.' The leaders of the United Kingdom, France, and Canada have also threatened to take 'concrete action,' including targeted sanctions, if Israel does not stop its renewed military offensive and continues to block aid from entering Gaza.

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