Latest news with #MirjanaSpoljaricEgger
Leaders
22-05-2025
- Politics
- Leaders
Joint Statement: Over 70 UN Member States Call for Protecting Gazans
Over 70 UN member states signed a joint statement urging the world to protect civilians in armed conflicts, amid mounting fears over starvation and genocide in Gaza, according to Arab News. The statement followed an annual open debate at the UN on the issue of protecting civilians. 'Civilians in armed conflicts continue to live under unthinkable conditions of constant danger, insecurity and suffering,' the joint statement said. Since the beginning of Hamas-Israel War in Gaza in 2023, the Israeli strikes have killed at least 53,500 Palestinians and wounded more than 118,000, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. Worst Humanitarian Crisis The statement highlighted reports from the UN's humanitarian agency, OCHA, that warned Gaza is facing the 'worst humanitarian crisis' since the beginning of the war. 'Today, we come with one clear message: The protection of civilians is not optional. It is a legal obligation under international humanitarian law, and a moral imperative we cannot afford to neglect,' the statement added. It also mentioned that women, men, children, older persons, and persons with disabilities, are all suffering. Meanwhile, health workers, farmers, teachers are killed, injured and forced to flee. 'Their protection must not be a secondary consideration — it must be central to all military planning and political decisions,' it said. During the UN debate, Mirjana Spoljaric Egger, President of the International Committee of the Red Cross, stated that the organization has repeatedly warned of imminent famine in Gaza. This starvation is a result of Israel's blockade on humanitarian goods that started in March. Despite the fact that Israel lifted blockade this week, the UN has still struggled to transport desperately needed aid into Gaza. In this context, UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said on Wednesday that the Israeli military provided aid trucks with access to Gaza only via an unsafe road. 'Let us reiterate our collective responsibility to protect the most vulnerable, to uphold international law, to prioritize the safety, dignity and rights of civilians, and to ensure that their faces and voices — so often invisible and silenced behind statistics — remain central to our actions,' the statement added. Related Topics: Gaza War Prompts UK, EU Action against Israel UAE, Israel Reach Agreement to Deliver Urgent Humanitarian Aid to Gaza Saudi Arabia Strongly Condemns Israel's Ground Operations in Gaza Short link :
New Straits Times
08-05-2025
- New Straits Times
Red Cross leaders demand action as aid worker deaths mount
RED CROSS LEADERS DEMAND ACTION AS AID WORKER DEATHS MOUNT KUALA LUMPUR, May 8 (Bernama) – As the world marks World Red Cross and Red Crescent Day on May 8, two prominent Red Cross organisations have issued a powerful statement condemning the tragic killing of humanitarian workers and calling for urgent international action to end the escalating brutality. "This World Red Cross and Red Crescent Day, we mourn our colleagues who were appallingly killed while trying to save lives. "Their deaths demand far more than empty words of outrage - they demand action," said International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) president Kate Forbes and International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) president Mirjana Spoljaric Egger, in a joint statement issued from Geneva, Thursday. They said the international community cannot continue to look away as the rules of war are ignored and humanitarian workers are deliberately targeted. "Every attack on a humanitarian worker is an attack on the community they served and a betrayal of the laws designed to protect civilians and alleviate suffering in conflict," they said. They added that the brutal killing of health workers at the Palestine Red Crescent Society in March sparked a global outcry. "But their story is not isolated. "From Gaza to Sudan, Ukraine, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and beyond, our colleagues are coming under fire while driving ambulances, distributing aid, and reaching frontline communities in need," they said. Their appeal comes as the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement mourns the loss of 10 colleagues in 2025 to date. This follows what has already been recorded as the deadliest year on record for humanitarian personnel, with 38 staff and volunteers killed in 2024. "If this horrifying pattern continues, 2025 may be even worse," they said, painting a grim picture of conditions plaguing frontline workers. They said states and parties to conflict bear direct responsibility for reversing the disturbing and dangerous trend by protecting humanitarian workers, upholding international humanitarian law, and standing up for our shared humanity. "The time to act is now," they urged. –BERNAMA
Egypt Today
12-04-2025
- Health
- Egypt Today
Red Cross chief describes humanitarian situation in Gaza as hell on earth
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.
Saba Yemen
11-04-2025
- Health
- Saba Yemen
ICRC's chief:Situation in Gaza 'hell on earth'
Geneva - Saba: International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) President Mirjana Spoljaric Egger on Friday described the humanitarian situation in Gaza Strip as "hell on earth" and warned that supplies at the ICRC field hospital would run out in two weeks. "We now find ourselves in a situation that I have to describe as hell on earth ... the population has no access to water, no access to electricity, no access to food in many areas," she told Reuters from the commission's headquarters in Geneva. Supplies are dangerously low, Spoljaric said. "For six weeks nothing has come in, so in two weeks we will run out of the supplies we need to keep the hospital running." The World Health Organization (WHO) said supplies of antibiotics and blood bags are rapidly running out. Dr Rik Peeperkorn, the World Health Organization's representative in the Palestinian territories, told reporters in Geneva via video link from Al-Quds that 22 of the 36 hospitals in Gaza Strip are operating at minimum capacity. The head of the Red Cross also expressed concern about the safety of humanitarian operations. "The movement of the population is very dangerous but it is particularly dangerous for our work," Spoljaric said. No humanitarian supplies have entered Gaza Strip since Zionist enemy forces blocked the entry of trucks on March 2. The Zionist enemy resumed its military aggression on Gaza on March 18. Whatsapp Telegram Email Print more of (International)
Yahoo
02-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
International Red Cross says Gaza ceasefire must continue
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has warned of the consequences of an end to the ceasefire agreement in the Gaza Strip. "Every effort must be made to maintain the ceasefire so that lives are spared from hostilities, humanitarian aid enters Gaza, and more families are reunited," ICRC President Mirjana Spoljaric Egger said in a statement published on Sunday. "Any unravelling of the forward momentum created over the last six weeks risks plunging people back into despair," she added. On Sunday, Israel said it has halted all deliveries into Gaza following the conclusion of the first phase of a ceasefire-for-hostage agreement with Hamas because it said the Palestinian group had refused to accept a US framework for the continuation of the talks. Hamas has called the halt in humanitarian aid deliveries "unscrupulous blackmail, a war crime and a serious breach of the agreement."
