ALEXANDRIA, Va – Islamic Relief USA (IRUSA) has released the following statement:
Today’s killing of more than 100 desperate Palestinians trying to get food for their starving families is a shocking new low in the crisis and comes as people are being starved to death, Islamic Relief says. It shows yet again why there must be an immediate ceasefire.
The scenes in northern Gaza today are utterly horrific and we are appalled that people have been killed and injured as they queued for some flour. With hundreds also injured, doctors say they are overwhelmed with casualties and don’t have supplies to treat them.
This latest atrocity comes as the death toll from almost five months of Israeli bombardment passes another shameful milestone of 30,000 people killed, and when more than half a million people are on the verge of famine. Food aid is now literally a matter of life or death for civilians in Gaza, yet Palestinians are being starved and now killed as they try and get food.
One in 6 young children in the north are now malnourished and infants are dying from hunger and dehydration. Young children are eating leaves or grass to survive. Children and pregnant and breastfeeding women are particularly at risk as famine looms.
Humanitarian agencies like Islamic Relief are doing all we can to provide people with food but there are Israeli barriers at every step. The Israeli blockade restricts quantity and type of aid can enter Gaza, with the number of aid trucks dropping by around 50% over the past month as the humanitarian crisis deteriorates. The Israeli military has repeatedly prevented UN convoys from entering the north, where the needs are greatest of all. Aid workers and humanitarian convoys have been attacked.
Tens of thousands more people could die from hunger and disease unless there is an immediate ceasefire and humanitarian aid is massively increased. Only an immediate ceasefire can prevent famine.
Israel has a duty under international law to ensure that people in Gaza can safely access food and other essentials, and this obligation must be upheld. Humanitarian aid and commercial supplies must be allowed into Gaza in sufficient quantity. Restrictions on agriculture and fishing must be lifted so that food can again be produced locally. More crossing points must be opened and hundreds more trucks must be allowed in every day.
MEDIA CONTACT
Syed M. Hassan
mhassan@irusa.org or
(571) 421-7032 (CELL)
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Islamic Relief USA, based in Alexandria, Va., is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) humanitarian organization. Its mission is to provide relief and development in a dignified manner regardless of gender, race, or religion, and works to empower individuals in their communities and give them a voice in the world. Its programs benefit millions of people each year in more than 40 countries around the world, including in the United States.
Islamic Relief USA meets all of the Standards for Charity Accountability of the BBB Wise Giving Alliance, a national charity monitoring group affiliated with the Better Business Bureau system. Islamic Relief USA is on the U.S. government’s Combined Federal Campaign (CFC) charity list, and it is also a signatory to the code of conduct of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.