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SvennoJ on 13 August 2024
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Gaza, Ukraine conflicts increasing Geneva Conventions violations – Red Cross

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) says that the Geneva Conventions – which were established to protect civilians, the wounded and detainees during wartime – are being widely ignored.

Marking the 75th anniversary of the establishment of the conventions, ICRC president Mirjana Spoljaric said that international humanitarian law is “under strain” as more than 120 armed conflicts are raging around the world.

“More than ever, the world must recommit to this robust, protective framework for armed conflict. One that follows the premise of protecting life instead of justifying death,” Spoljaric said.

Situation in North Gaza ‘incredibly precarious’, aid worker warns

A Palestinian employee with American Near East Refugee Aid (ANERA) has described “an incredibly precarious” situation in North Gaza amid relentless Israeli attacks and a worsening food and water crisis.

“Today, I experienced the danger firsthand when I was stranded at the crossing point between north and south for over two hours,” Sami Matar wrote in a dispatch. “Explosions erupted around me, and I found myself in close proximity to three tanks. It was a harrowing experience, and it underscores just how volatile things have become.

“Each time I cross into the north, I notice more destruction. During this visit, I saw that 20 buildings that had been standing on Salah al-Din Street, the main thoroughfare, are now flattened – gone within just a couple of weeks since my last visit. On my way to our office in Gaza City, I passed by a market that was nearly empty, with only a few canned goods left on the shelves.”

Matar said that only humanitarian aid is being permitted into the north, where some 250,000 to 300,000 people remain and essential items like vegetables, meat, milk and medicine remain scarce. The vast majority of people have had no access to electricity since October, but some are managing with solar power and generators, he wrote.

“The situation demands urgent and sustained efforts to ensure that the most vulnerable can survive and rebuild,” he added.


Flames rise following an Israeli attack on a residential building in Gaza City, on August 11

‘The worst place I have ever seen’: Doctor on suffering in Gaza

“This is the worst place I’ve ever seen in my life and the in the entire world.”

This is how the Egyptian-American physician, Dr Adam al-Hamwi, described the situation in Gaza, comparing the tragic scene to his 30-year career in medicine, during which he worked in countries that witnessed wars such as Syria, Iraq and Bosnia.

His comments came during a UK seminar a few days ago entitled Live Testimonies of Doctors Returning from Gaza, in which eight international medical professionals returning from Gaza were invited to speak about their experiences.

“Seventy percent of those we receive in Gaza hospitals die, which is a very high percentage,” unlike other war zones he’s worked in, which recorded a death rate of only about 10 percent, as he put it.

The official death toll in the Gaza Strip from Israel’s war on Gaza is nearing 40,000, though that number is likely much higher, according to an independent scholarly estimate.


UNICEF sounds alarm over Gaza’s clean water, sewage crisis

The UN agency said the “appalling” hygiene conditions in Gaza were threatening children’s lives and health.

“Sewage water is all over the streets,” UNICEF spokesman Salim Oweis said from central Deir el-Balah, where untreated sewage run-off has formed large pools on the road.

“With the lack of clean water, the destruction of the sanitation system, sewage treatment systems, children and families are still struggling,” he said.



The alarm has been ringing for many months, the US and its allies don't care.


‘Displacement never ends in Gaza’: UNRWA

The UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the Near East, UNRWA, which is the main humanitarian agency in Gaza, has said in a post on X that nearly 84 percent of the Gaza Strip has been placed under evacuation orders by the Israeli military.