One hand does not clap, and a supporting hand is cut off by Israel

Yesterday, the world celebrated World Humanitarian Day, a day dedicated to recognizing the efforts of humanitarian workers and those who lost their lives due to humanitarian aid. It was linked to the date of August 19, 2003, which coincides with the day on which the Special Representative of the Secretary-General of the United Nations in Iraq, Sergio Vieira de Mello, and 21 of his colleagues were killed in the bombing of the United Nations building in Baghdad.

When the world commemorates such a day, which carries many humanitarian achievements, and remembers representatives of humanitarian and relief organizations who paid with their lives for conflicts, disputes and emergencies in many parts of the world, the Palestinian people, with all their components, stood yesterday and remembered with silence, reverence, calm and dignity what the humanitarian and relief teams of the United Nations or other humanitarian agencies in Palestine did and their honorable and pure campaign to help the Palestinians, as they face the war and crime of genocide, as these agencies, foremost among them the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees, confronted the relief of our people, especially in the Gaza Strip, to support and assist them and stand by them to confront the dangers of the destructive aggression, which destroyed all the components of Palestinian life, foremost among which are shelter and refugee schools and displacement centers, temporary living tents, mosques and houses and churches of worship, so Israel wiped them out completely, forcing the displaced to live in the streets, alleys and lanes, next to their destroyed homes and torn tents, and it was not satisfied This brutal occupation, not only killed Palestinians, but also crossed the limits and standards of humanity with its terrorist soldiers, killing more than 280 foreign aid workers, to prevent them from providing aid. Even the Palestinian and foreign medical teams, the occupation eliminated their main components, so they work in difficult and complex conditions, and are unable to meet the needs of the people who truly need urgent and emergency humanitarian aid.

The World Humanitarian Day came amidst the ongoing war of genocide, displacement and ethnic cleansing against our Palestinian people, amid the deaths of thousands of martyrs and the injury of tens of thousands, in addition to the missing, displaced, refugees, kidnapped Palestinians and detainees, against whom the occupation practices the most heinous crimes of torture and revenge killing.

This day requires the entire world to stand up to its political, legal, moral and humanitarian responsibilities, to provide the greatest solidarity with our people, their just cause and their legitimate rights, and to criminalize the occupation’s practices and grave violations against our people and against the humanitarian work crews themselves in Gaza, in order to pressure the occupation to stop its ongoing aggression since October 7, and thus provide the appropriate atmosphere for the return of humanitarian, charitable and health work institutions and agencies to work, and to assume their full responsibilities towards providing protection, and providing support and assistance to our people in all areas of their presence, especially in Gaza.

Humanitarian work dedicated to providing shelter, refuge, food, water, health care, protection, overcoming health disasters, famine, displacement and many others, are widespread and prevalent phenomena in the Gaza Strip. Hence, it is necessary to increase the pace and degree of assistance and support in the Strip, and facilitate the work of these agencies and organizations. However, the one Palestinian hand of the citizens of the Strip, which needs another hand to help it, stand by it and support it, was cut off by the occupation, prevented from helping and killed dozens of its owners. The question that arises here is, how many days should the United Nations include in its annual calendar, as days of solidarity, support and cooperation with the Palestinian people, as they face tragedies and difficulties?

We believe that the calendar will not be long enough, given the intensity of events, occasions and tragic dates, in which the occupation has killed every day, hour, minute and moment of our people’s lives, in addition to killing dozens of workers from humanitarian agencies and organizations. What is required on World Humanitarian Day is to stand by our Palestinian people, and every day of the year when our people need great humanitarian aid, instead of claiming democracy and humanity in diplomatic visits, negotiation efforts and communications with international countries, all of which ignore a tragic reality regarding the conditions of our people, and their only concern is a handful of Israeli detainees and seeking their release under the pretext of humanity!!