..says Gaza now largest open funeral home in the world.
By Joy Odor
As Israeli genocidal war entered 132 Day, Abdullah Abu Shawesh, the Palestine Ambassador to Nigeria has continued to expressed displeasure towards the unshakable and unquestionable Western support to the Israeli aggression towards Palestine, pointing out that without Western support, the war will not have happened.
This is even as he informed that Gaza has become the largest open funeral home in the world.
Shawesh who gave the condemnation in his address while briefing journalists at Palestinian Embassy Abuja on Thursday hinted that the Palestinians in Gaza are being forced to choose between being killed, maimed, or fleeing their homes.
He also affirmed that one hundred thousand Palestinian victims who are killed, maimed, wounded, still under the rubble, widows, orphans, and torn families are presented as mere numbers, and the news screens, particularly western ones, have not yet shown their pictures.
Shawesh noted that Israel used F-15s, F-16s, F-35s, helicopters, tanks, missiles, and ammunition to destroy the refugee camps and kill thousands of very poor, scared, and displaced inhabitants.
Palestine Ambassador lamented that, hundreds of people died due to lack of proper medical treatment and infectious diseases, famine is next at the door.
He added that the Israeli soldiers stole 54 million dollar from Palestine bank on Gaza,
WHO had documented 721 attacks on health care in the OPT since 7 October; of those, 357 attacks in Gaza had resulted in 645 fatalities.
“28300 people were martyred at the hands of the Israeli occupation, including 7750 women and 12250 children, while 68000 were injured.
“8000 are still missing under the rubble. Out of the 22 health units affiliated with the UNRWA, only four are operating due to the destruction and access restrictions. Thirteen hospitals out of 36 in Gaza are functioning.
“There is a risk of outbreaks of infectious diseases due to unsanitary conditions, overcrowding, and the heavy burden on the health system.
“According to the Minister of Health, there have been 223,000 cases of acute respiratory infections, 158,000 cases of diarrhea, 53% of which were among children under the age of five, 55,472 cases of scabies and lice, 38,010 cases of skin rash, and 5,330 cases of chickenpox, in addition to several cases of relapsing hepatitis.
“In the Occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem Since October 7, Israel’s occupying forces and settler militias have killed 390 Palestinians, including 102 children, and injured 4,500.
“In addition, thousands of Palestinians, mostly men and boys, have been rounded up, arrested, violently interrogated, dehumanized, tortured, and imprisoned, with dozens executed. 7,000 Palestinians have been detained in Israeli jails, including 440 children, 53 press correspondents, and 3490 administrative detainees.
“Rafah is at stake and the Palestinians are very close to being exiled to Sinai. Rafah is a Palestinian city located near the border with Egypt. It became heavily populated by Gazans after the IOF forcibly displaced them from the north.
“The Israeli prime minister has asked the IOF to prepare a military plan to invade it, stating that the over 1.4 million civilians who have crowded into Rafah will be able to evacuate before the army begins operations there.
“One very dangerous point here is that he did not indicate where they will be evacuated? Will they be sent to the north? meaning back to the rubble of their homes and the remains of their house units? Or will they be sent to the south, which would force them to cross the Egyptian borders? In this case, they are going to implement their very old plan of expelling the Palestinians to Sinai?
“Martin Griffiths, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator said, and I quote, Today, I’m sounding the alarm once again: Military operations in Rafah could lead to a slaughter in Gaza. They could also leave an already fragile humanitarian operation at death’s door.
“We lack the safety guarantees, the aid supplies and the staff capacity to keep this operation afloat. The international community has been warning against the dangerous consequences of any ground invasion in Rafah.
“The Government of Israel cannot continue to ignore these calls. History will not be kind. This war must end. In his press conference on 2024 priorities on 8 February 2024, the UNSG said, “In Gaza, the situation just keeps getting worse.
“In addition to the death and destruction from military operation- starvation and disease are bearing down on Palestinians in Gaza… one of our convoys was damages by Israeli naval artillery earlier this week” he stressed.
Shawesh was of the opinion that Israel has not provided cogent reasons for such extensive destruction of civilian infrastructure, homes and other essential civilian infrastructure.
He reminded the authorities that forcible transfer of civilians may constitute a war crime.
According to him, the United States has many cards that, if used, could end the genocidal war by closing the lethal US weapons and ammunition tap supplying Israel would necessarily mean saving thousands of innocent lives.
Again, Shawesh maintained that removing the political shield that Israel enjoys in the Security Council and other international forums is another tool in the hands of the United States to stop this genocidal war.
