The brutal aggression against Palestinians continues unabated with 31 more people killed in Israeli strikes carried out in the Palestinian territories in the last 24 hours. The Ministry of Health in Gaza said that to date 45,885 people have died at the hands of Israeli occupying forces and 109,196 injured, most of them children and women. On the mediation front, Qatar has been working tirelessly to reach a ceasefire agreement to end the suffering of innocent civilians in Palestine, where millions are displaced, infrastructure, including schools and hospitals, has been completely destroyed and people, including children, are suffering in the cold winter with an acute shortage of essential supplies as Israel is not allowing entry of aid supplies. They went to such an extent that they even attacked the UN World Food Program convoy which had all necessary clearances. The UN’s World Food Programme in a statement alerted the international community to bear its responsibility accusing the Israeli forces of firing at least 16 bullets at the clearly marked vehicles. The “clearly marked WFP convoy was shot at by Israeli forces near the Wadi Gaza checkpoint, putting the lives of our staff at tremendous risk and leaving the vehicles immobilised,” the agency said. “The convoy, consisting of three vehicles carrying eight staff members, came under hostile fire despite having received all of the necessary clearances from Israeli authorities. At least 16 bullets struck the vehicles,” it added. Gazans face dire conditions after nearly 15 months of war, with humanitarian agencies repeatedly warning not enough aid was reaching Palestinians in need due in part to looting as well as Israeli restrictions. The Israeli occupation has been committing a textbook genocide in the Gaza Strip for 458 days, amid an indescribably massive man-made destruction and famine and deafening international silence. This is happening at a time when mediators’ efforts to achieve a ceasefire is still stumbling because of Israeli intransigence and hardliners. Qatar along with Egypt and the United States have been trying to reach a ceasefire agreement for months and technical meetings are taking place between the parties. It is high time for international bodies to come together and put more pressure on Israel to reach an immediate ceasefire and end the suffering of millions. Stop this collective punishment before more lives are lost.
