The Secretary-General of the Arab League Ahmed Aboul Gheit urged today the member states of the UN Security Council (UNSC) to work to stop the Israeli aggression on Gaza Strip immediately and achieve a humanitarian truce to allow for entry of the necessary materials to save the lives of hundreds of thousands of people. In a statement today, Aboul Gheit said that a famine in Gaza has become a possibility, especially since 1.2 million people in Gaza were already suffering from food insecurity prior the recent Israeli aggression on the Strip. After 17 full years of siege, the entire population today are facing the threat of starvation and do not know how to get their next meal, he added. "The continuation of Israeli attacks, as well as the aerial bombardment and siege, aggravate the humanitarian situation in Gaza in a horrific way, in what can effectively be described as a war of extermination and ethnic cleansing of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians," the statement said. Aboul Gheit warned that "this situation creates a major health crisis and increases the possibility of transmission of infectious diseases, which is exacerbated by the cessation of service in a number of hospitals and health units, and the collapse of the health sector in Gaza after the generators ran out of fuel, and as a result of it being targeted by the Israeli occupation forces." The statement noted that the number of trucks entering from the Rafah crossing into the Gaza Strip is still far below what is required to avoid a humanitarian crisis.
Source: Palestine News & Information Agency