Gaza aid ship ‘a powerful symbol’ of urgent action needed: Ireland
The Irish foreign minister has praised the Madleen, the Gaza-bound aid ship intercepted by Israel, but says it’s a “shame” on the world that Palestinians are starving in Gaza.
“The Madleen was an effort to get food and medicine to the starving people of Gaza; an unarmed civilian effort in the midst of devastation and catastrophic humanitarian conditions,” Simon Harris said in a statement.
Praising the effort, Harris noted it’s “a powerful symbol” of immediate action required to end Israel’s months-long blockade on all humanitarian aid.
“What the flotilla has highlighted is the urgent need for humanitarian aid to get into Gaza,” he said, adding that the ship’s seizure is yet another attempt by Israeli authorities to prevent aid from entering the devastated territory.
UN calls for unrestricted flow of aid to alleviate Gaza’s humanitarian crisis
Responding to a question about the Madleen’s impact in addressing the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, Olga Cherevko, a spokesperson for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), says there has to be a “meaningful lifting of the blockade”.
“What is happening right now is a very limited number of aid shipments being allowed in [by Israel], and this aid is woefully insignificant compared to the people’s needs on the ground,” she told Al Jazeera from Deir el-Balah in central Gaza.
Cherevko stressed that only comprehensive changes would improve conditions for Gaza’s population.
“The only way to address these needs and to alleviate the suffering of the people is through an unencumbered, unfettered and unrestricted flow of aid into Gaza and also an enabling environment for us to be able to pick up these supplies, to deliver them to the distribution points, to deliver them directly to families and really empower the society to rebuild their lives in some way,” she added.
Death toll in Gaza rises to 44 since dawn
Medical sources in hospitals across Gaza tell Al Jazeera at least 44 people have been killed in Israeli attacks since this morning.
At least 14 Palestinians were killed near an Israel-and-US-backed aid distribution site in Rafah in southern Gaza.
It’s the latest mass shooting of starving aid-seekers by Israeli forces since the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation began its widely criticized operation on May 27.
