Gaza

We are appalled at the failure of the UN Security Council to authorise a resolution demanding a humanitarian ceasefire and unconditional release of hostages held in Gaza. If implemented, this would have provided much needed respite for civilians in Gaza who are under constant bombardment.This was a missed opportunity to stop the violence.  

Reacting to news today that the humanitarian pause agreed between the Government of Israel and Hamas has ended, with renewed hostilities, Oxfam Humanitarian Director Marta Valdes Garcia said: “While Oxfam welcomes the release of Israeli and foreign national hostages back to their families during the pause, and the reuniting of Palestinian prisoners and detainees in return, more still remain in captivity. 

On the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, a call for a permanent and immediate ceasefire was projected at Mont des Arts in Brussels. This visual statement, projected in Europe’s capital, underscores the critical need for a permanent ceasefire to end the suffering in Gaza, where, in 54 days alone, more than 14 800 Palestinians (70% of them women and children) have been reported killed and more than 36,000 injured amid intensifying hostilities. 

The collapse of Gaza’s hospitals and healthcare system, coupled with the catastrophic living conditions, is resulting in babies dying of preventable causes, Oxfam warned today.  Newborns up to three months old are dying of diarrhoea, hypothermia, dehydration and infection as mothers have little to no medical support and are living in appalling conditions without water, sanitation, heat or food.  

In response to the announcement of the release of hostages and prisoners, and of the four-day humanitarian pause to escalated hostilities in Gaza, agreed today between Hamas and the Government of Israel, Oxfam’s Humanitarian Director, Marta Valdez Garcia, said: “We welcome that fact that a number of the Israeli and foreign national hostages will be released. This deal allows much-needed time for families on both sides to be reunited, celebrate the safe return of their loved ones, and mourn those they have lost. It would be optimistic to see this as the beginning of a road toward a permanent ceasefire – but that looks distant.  

The amount of water available to people trapped in Gaza will still be just 17 percent of pre-siege levels, despite the Israeli government announcing that two trucks of fuel will now be allowed in each day, Oxfam warned. Current fuel levels have made water treatment, pumping and distribution virtually impossible. All water, fuel and food to Gaza was cut off by the siege implemented by the Israeli government on 9 October.

Reacting to the vote on Malta’s resolution, Oxfam America President and CEO Abby Maxman said: “Today’s resolution does show important progress in the Council in an effort to uphold international law. But at a time when a full cessation of hostilities is required, it falls far short by calling only for extended humanitarian pauses and corridors. Those are not nearly enough while the violence and siege continue. Even as hospitals are bombarded and the UN warns that their fuel supplies for aid have run dry, it is a bitter disappointment that UN Security Council members are still not able to vote for a ceasefire in Gaza."

In response to the escalation of attacks on hospitals in Gaza, Sally Abi Khalil, Oxfam’s Middle East Regional Director, said: “Attacks on hospitals packed with civilians in need of urgent treatment and seeking shelter are abhorrent and can never be justified. Children receiving care for cancer, people on respirators, patients in intensive care cannot flee the violence. Indiscriminately firing on civilians in hospitals is not just a war crime, it’s an assault on humanity.  

Today, Members of the European Parliament called for a humanitarian pause in the resolution they adopted on the events in Gaza. In response, Vittorio Infante, Oxfam EU conflict expert said: "This is a timid gesture. While any window to bring in aid to Gaza safely should be seized at this catastrophic stage, this is not the real answer.