IRAN has urged the international community to act against the ‘unbridled’ Israeli regime and stop its ‘horrible crimes’ committed with impunity against the oppressed Palestinian people in the blockaded Gaza Strip.
Speaking at a weekly press conference on Monday, Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kan’ani said the Zionist regime ‘brazenly’ bombards hospitals and puts them under a siege, but the world shows no reaction.
‘It is the responsibility of the world to take action against the unbridled regime which is committing horrible crimes with impunity, under the international support provided by the United States government at the (UN) Security Council.
‘We hope that the world will come to its senses and not allow the continuation of the crimes, take heed of the cry of the oppressed people of Gaza, and take practical action.’
Kan’ani also urged the United Nations Security Council to put pressure on the Israeli regime over the use of unconventional weapons and (illegal) phosphorus bombs in Gaza.
Israel waged the bloody war on the Gaza Strip on October 7th after Hamas carried out a surprise operation against the occupying regime.
Since the start of the aggression, the Tel Aviv regime has killed at least 11,180 Palestinians in Gaza, mostly women and children, and injured about 28,200 others.
It has also imposed a ‘complete siege’ on the coastal sliver, cutting off fuel, electricity, food and water to the more than two million Palestinians living there.
Also in his remarks, Kan’ani said that the Zionist regime has obstructed the entry of humanitarian aid to Gaza and that donor countries have not been able to deliver aid to the Palestinians.
‘Most of the aid is stored in Egypt and its amount is like a drop in the ocean based on the statistics provided by global sources. This shows that all humanitarian principles and rules are being violated by the regime.’
The Iranian diplomat also declared that the Islamic Republic believes in the formation of ‘a unified Palestinian government from the River to the Sea.’
He also reiterated Iran’s diplomatic solution to the Palestine issue which includes holding a referendum so that all Palestinian citizens can decide the fate of their country.
Referring to last Saturday’s Joint Arab Islamic Extraordinary Summit on Gaza in the Saudi capital of Riyadh, Kan’ani said that the meeting indicates Iran’s ‘successful’ efforts to mobilise regional and Arab-Muslim countries regarding the Palestine issue.
Iran’s four main priorities include ending the war, lifting the siege, opening humanitarian corridors, and dispatching humanitarian aid to Gaza, as well as confronting Israel’s coercive measures and forced displacement of the Palestinian people.
- China has urged an immediate ceasefire in Gaza amid the continuation of Israel’s brutal attacks on the besieged Strip, expressing its readiness to work with relevant parties to help de-escalate the ‘extremely dire’ situation in the blockaded area.
‘China calls for an immediate ceasefire between parties to the conflict, all efforts possible to protect civilians and scaled-up humanitarian aid effort to ease the humanitarian crisis,’ Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said at a regular press conference on Monday.
She added that in just over one month since the beginning of Israel’s genocide against Palestinians in Gaza, the current humanitarian situation has become ‘extremely dire’.
She described Al-Shifa Hospital, the largest medical complex in the besieged territory, as an ‘epitome’ of the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
Mao Ning urged members of the international community to take ‘substantive measures and make a great effort’ to end Israel’s assault on the hospital.
Pointing to the need to halt the Israeli atrocities, Mao noted that her country has a ‘very much similar’ position to that of the Arab, Muslim and African countries.
Since the beginning of Israel’s war on Gaza, she added, China has been in close communication with relevant parties to call for ceasefire and restoration of peace.
‘China supports all efforts aimed at de-escalating the situation and to bring back peace… China will work with relevant parties to continue to work relentlessly to protect civilians, de-escalate the situation, resume talks for peace and realise peace,’ the spokeswoman said.
- A Press Release, dated 11 November 2023, from Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) said: ‘Over the past 24 hours, hospitals in Gaza, Palestine, have been under relentless bombardment.
‘Al-Shifa hospital, the biggest health facility where staff from Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) are still working, has been hit several times, including the maternity and outpatient departments, resulting in multiple deaths and injuries.
‘The hostilities around the hospital have not stopped. MSF teams and hundreds of patients are still inside Al-Shifa hospital. We urgently reiterate our calls to stop the attacks against hospitals, for an immediate ceasefire and for the protection of medical facilities, medical staff and patients.
‘We are being killed here, please do something,’ texted one of the MSF nurses from Al-Shifa hospital basement yesterday morning, where he and his family were sheltering from the incessant bombing.
‘Four or five families are sheltering now in the basement; the shelling is so close, my kids are crying and screaming in fear.’
‘The situation in Al-Shifa is truly catastrophic,’ said Ann Taylor, MSF’s Head of Mission in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
‘We call on the Israeli government to cease this unrelenting assault on Gaza’s health system. Our staff and patients are inside Al-Shifa hospital where the heavy bombing has not stopped since yesterday.’
MSF continued: ‘Al-Shifa hospital is the principal hospital complex in the Gaza Strip, with 700 beds, providing emergency and surgical care. There are currently no other facilities in the Strip able to admit and treat as many patients with complex, sometimes life-threatening, injuries.
‘Despite regular attacks and supply shortages, the staff have managed to keep the hospital operational.
‘Yesterday, Al-Shifa hospital lost electrical power. The ambulances can no longer move to collect the injured, and non-stop bombardment prevents patients and staff from evacuating. At the time of writing, our staff are witnessing people being shot at as they attempt to flee the hospital.’
‘There are a lot of patients already operated on and they cannot walk. They cannot evacuate,’ said Dr Mohammed Obeid, MSF surgeon at Al-Shifa. ‘We need an ambulance to move them, we don’t have ambulances to evacuate all of these patients.
‘We cannot leave because from Friday morning (10 November) until now, we operated on about 25 patients. If I am not here or the other surgeon, who will take care of the patients?’ asked Obeid.
‘There is a patient who needs surgery, another one is already sleeping (under anaesthesia).’
The press statement concluded: ‘MSF denounces the death warrant for civilians currently trapped in Al-Shifa hospital signed by the Israeli military. There needs to be an urgent and unconditional ceasefire from all warring parties; humanitarian aid must be supplied to the entirety of the Gaza Strip now.
‘MSF has lost contact with a surgeon, who was working and sheltering in Al-Quds hospital with his family. Other health facilities, including Al-Rantisi hospital, which MSF has also supported in the past, are reportedly surrounded by Israeli tanks.
‘We urge the US, UK, Canada, Member states of the League of Arab States, Member states of the Organisation of the Islamic Cooperation, and the European Union, who have repeatedly called for respect for International Humanitarian Law (IHL), to take action to ensure a ceasefire now.
‘The horrors unfolding before our eyes in Gaza clearly show that calls for restraint and adherence to IHL have gone unheeded.
‘Working purposefully to reach a ceasefire is the most effective way to ensure the protection of civilians.
‘Thousands of people have been wounded since 7th October, many of whom are in critical condition and will require complex surgeries and sustained treatment for weeks, if not months.
‘This can only be done with a total ceasefire and the unconditional supply of humanitarian aid including access to food, fuel and water; the survival of people in Gaza depends on this.’