Healthcare workers are among those starving in Gaza, says Irish Medical Organisation
The Irish Medical Organisation (IMO) has called on the Irish Government and the European Union to take ‘immediate and decisive action’ to ensure that Palestinians in Gaza have access to food, water, shelter, and medical care.
In a statement released this week, the union praised the courage of healthcare professionals working in dire conditions in the war-torn region, and who now face severe hunger due to extreme food shortages.
This week a global hunger monitor said a worst-case scenario of famine is unfolding in Gaza and immediate action is needed to avoid widespread death.
Facing mounting international outrage over images of starving children, Israel said on Sunday it would halt military operations for ten hours a day in parts of the strip, and designate secure routes for convoys delivering food and medicine.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said that the United Nations and its partners had been able to bring more food into Gaza in the first two days of pauses, but the volume was ‘still far from enough’.
“Healthcare workers are among those starving, even while striving to treat the wounded and care for communities under appalling conditions,” an IMO statement said.
“What is needed in Gaza is the full and immediate lifting of all barriers to humanitarian aid. Aid must be allowed to flow safely and freely through non-partisan and trusted international partners such as the UN. The deliberate obstruction of humanitarian aid and targeting of aid sites is a gross violation of the Geneva Conventions and their protocols.
“The health system in Gaza has collapsed. Doctors are being forced to deliver care in conditions that defy belief. They are under constant threat, without adequate equipment, and often without electricity or clean water.
“Many of our medical colleagues have been injured or killed in the course of their work. The IMO expresses its deepest solidarity with healthcare workers in Gaza and their families and salutes their courage and commitment to their work.”
The statement added: “International humanitarian law must be respected and enforced. We urge the Irish Government and the European Union to take immediate and decisive action to protect civilians in Gaza and ensure access to food, water, shelter, and medical care. These are fundamental human rights.”
