Latest news with #ClemenceLagouardat
The National
11-05-2025
- Health
- The National
Israeli strikes kill 10 Palestinians overnight in Gaza
Two of the strikes overnight and early on Sunday hit tents in the southern city of Khan Younis, each killing two children and their parents. Other strikes killed a child and a man riding a bicycle, according to Nasser Hospital, which received the bodies from all three strikes. There was no immediate Israeli comment on the strikes. Israel has previously said it does not intentionally target civilians and blames militant group Hamas for embedding in densely populated areas. READ MORE: Scottish musician releases single condemning Israel's war crimes in Gaza Israel has sealed Gaza off from all imports, including food, medicine and emergency shelter, for more than 10 weeks in what it claims is a pressure tactic aimed at forcing Hamas to release hostages. Israel resumed its assault in March, shattering a ceasefire that had facilitated the release of more than 30 hostages. Aid groups say food supplies are running low and hunger is widespread in Gaza. Clemence Lagouardat, Gaza humanitarian lead with charity Oxfam, told the BBC's Good Morning Scotland show that the humanitarian situation in Gaza has "reached an all-time low". Israel's war on Gaza has killed more than 52,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. The offensive has destroyed vast areas of the territory and displaced some 90% of its population of around two million. Attacks intensified on October 7 2023 when Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel killing around 1200 people and taking 251 hostage. Fifty-nine hostages are still inside Gaza, with around a third of them believed to be alive. READ MORE: Doctor who grew up in Gaza gives 'emotional' speech at Highlands pro-Palestine march It comes as a former Israeli army chief said that Israel is "sending soldiers to commit war crimes in Gaza". Moshe Yaalon, the Israeli military's former chief of staff, said Israel was carrying out a campaign of "ethnic cleansing" in Gaza.
The National
23-04-2025
- General
- The National
Aid workers describe Gaza as 'stuff of nightmares'
Israel has blocked aid, vital supplies, and commercial goods from entering Gaza since the ceasefire agreement ended last month and has now been accused of 'spreading terror' through mass forced displacement orders. Oxfam said Israel has issued repeated forced displacement orders to clear out civilian populations from its renewed airstrikes and attacks on Gaza since March 18. The humanitarian aid organisation added that around 70% of the Gaza Strip is under displacement orders or 'no go' zones, affecting more than 500,000 people, and pushing many into inhospitable, unsafe and inaccessible areas. READ MORE: John Swinney announces £300,000 in extra humanitarian aid for Middle East conflicts Clemence Lagouardat, Oxfam response lead in Gaza, said that people are living in fear and that it is difficult for aid workers to get the little supplies they have left to people living in makeshift shelters. 'It's hard to explain just how terrible things are in Gaza at the moment. Our staff and partners are witnessing scenes of carnage and despair every day,' she said. 'People are in terror, fearing for their lives as displacement orders tell them, with little notice, to move with whatever they can carry. 'The restrictions on internal movement are also making it very difficult to carry out vital, life-saving work. With so many people displaced, the strains on dwindling resources and operational needs are massive. 'What little aid we have left inside Gaza is hard to get to people living in makeshift shelters and tents when travel is so dangerous.' Israel's blockade of aid, which started on March 2, has forced many humanitarian agencies to pause their operations. Oxfam and its partners have said they have not received a single aid truck, food parcel, hygiene kit, or any other essential equipment since the siege began. It added that supplies in Gaza are nearly exhausted, with only a few water tanks remaining in the city. One Oxfam staff member, who was displaced under fire twice in one week after the forced evacuation of Rafah, said nearly everything had been destroyed. She described the sounds of gunfire at night and people crying in the street, not knowing where to go. Another aid worker for the organisation said the experiences were 'the stuff of nightmares', with people crying for help under piles of rubble, and others desperately trying to flee with injured family members. They added that many others are facing a daily struggle to find anything to drink or eat. Oxfam added that the recent escalations in efforts by Israel to bombard, deprive, and displace the Palestinian population of Gaza have severely restricted aid efforts from getting to people, who are facing starvation and relentless violence. Mohammad Nairab, executive manager for the Palestinian Environmental Friends Association (PEF), one of Oxfam's partners in Gaza, said nothing could prepare Palestinians for the unprecedented war they have endured. He said: 'Since the war resumed, many of our teams have been displaced. We have had to continue our work, despite the lack of safety, as countless people rely on us for water, especially during these dire times. 'Nothing could have prepared us for such an unprecedented war. The damage we face—both psychological and physical—is profound and cannot be easily undone.' People are struggling to find safe drinking water, with facilities bombed or unable to operate since Israel cut the last remaining electricity supplies needed to run sanitation facilities, Oxfam have said. The aid organisation added that backup generators are of little use because fuel stores are depleted and the prices of what little food is available have skyrocketed, which has left many people at risk of extreme hunger. Lagouardat said: 'We must see an end to this terror and carnage right now, with a lifting of the siege to allow urgent humanitarian aid to reach all of those in need.' Oxfam is calling for a renewed and permanent ceasefire, the safe return of Israeli hostages and illegally detained Palestinian prisoners, and immediate and unfettered aid access at scale in Gaza. The aid organisation has reiterated its call for justice and accountability for all those affected, and state governments should stop selling arms to Israel, risking complicity in war crimes and crimes against humanity.
