27 May 2024 — As the EU’s foreign affairs ministers meet today to discuss the unfolding humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, the International Rescue Committee (IRC) and Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP) call on leaders to act now to prevent the further loss of life.
At the last EU Foreign Affairs Council of the current mandate, the IRC and MAP are calling on European leaders to urgently leverage all possible influence on parties to the conflict to:
- Secure an immediate and permanent ceasefire to protect civilians in Gaza from further harm, enable the release of all hostages, and facilitate vital assistance reaching people across Gaza.
- Uphold international humanitarian law, which demands the protection of civilians and the infrastructure they depend on to survive.
- Protect humanitarian and medical missions and ensure the provision of lifesaving services for the civilian population, sick, and wounded.
- Protect civilians, civilian objects, and critical infrastructure in line with the laws and ethics of armed conflict.
In the context of the Foreign Affairs Council, Dr Khaled Dawas—a surgeon who has recently returned from his second two-week rotation in Gaza’s Al Aqsa hospital with the IRC and MAP—is in Brussels today to share his reflections from the ground with EU policymakers.
Dr Khaled Dawas, surgeon with the IRC and MAP’s Emergency Medical Team in Gaza, says:
“The ongoing hostilities in Gaza are hugely hindering the provision of essential health services. Compared to what I saw in January, the doctors I worked with in Al Aqsa are now not just exhausted, but also malnourished. They have lost up to 20kg in three months. And it is not only the hospital’s staff that are becoming more depleted, but their resources too. They have become so strapped for resources, they are using dressing gowns for drapes in the operating rooms to keep things sterile. They are using single-use medical instruments up to 20 times, and basic necessities like wound dressings are now scarce.
The impact of the situation is unfathomable, and we need to see decisive leadership from the EU and its member states to put a halt to the suffering and destruction.”
Marta Welander, IRC EU Advocacy Director, says:
“The humanitarian crisis and ongoing suffering in Gaza is catastrophic. Almost every person in Gaza is now in need of humanitarian assistance, and respect for international humanitarian law is being woefully disregarded.
At today’s Foreign Affairs Council—the last of the current EU mandate—it is crucial that states take urgent steps towards stopping the grave breaches of international law taking place in Gaza, and pursue accountability for them. This includes working to ensure an end to the transfer of weapons that risk being used in violation of international, humanitarian and human rights law in Gaza. This is not just a moral, but a legal imperative, and essential in order to avoid further civilian harm.”