In the past 24 hours, a series of government and non-government affiliated organisations have released statements calling for aid and support for the people of Gaza.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Care International, UNFPA, UNICEF and WHO have made urgent appeals for humanitarian assistance, as Israeli forces continue to attack Gaza.
Overnight, Health Ministry Undersecretary Munir al-Boursh revealed that Israeli snipers have been targeting people around Al-Shifa hospital, thus trapping them inside.
On Sunday, the ICRC released a statement describing the “men, women, and children… walk[ing] for dozens of kilometres past dead bodies lying on the streets and without necessities like food and water.”
“A hundred thousand displaced people lack essentials like shelter, food, water, and hygiene,” the statement read. “The situation is rapidly approaching a humanitarian disaster.”
“The quantity of humanitarian aid coming in is largely insufficient.”
Care International described the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza as “unrecognisable”. In a statement, the non-governmental humanitarian organisation’s West Bank and Gaza country director said it was now “almost impossible to find food and drinking water. There is simply nothing left.”
“The journey to the south is incredibly dangerous and hard,” Hiba Tibi said. “Many of those who have made it out have experienced and witnessed terrible suffering.”
“Before, Gaza had 600 trucks arriving each day to bring supplies. Today, 32 days into the conflict, less than 600 have entered Gaza combined. We urgently need a ceasefire so that civilians can access food, water and medical supplies.”
Regional directors of UNFPA, UNICEF and WHO released a joint statement, describing their “horrified” reactions to the ongoing attack of hospitals in Gaza that are “killing many, including children.”
“Intense hostilities surrounding several hospitals in northern Gaza are preventing safe access for health staff, the injured, and other patients,” the statement read.
“Premature and new-born babies on life support are reportedly dying due to power, oxygen, and water cuts… while others are at risk.”
“Staff across a number of hospitals are reporting lack of fuel, water and basic medical supplies, putting the lives of all patients at immediate risk.”
Since the beginning of the latest conflict on October 7, WHO has recorded up to 137 attacks on health care facilities in Gaza, killing 521 civilians.
“Attacks on medical facilities and civilians are unacceptable and are a violation of International Humanitarian and Human Rights Law and Conventions,” the directors explained in their statement. “They cannot be condoned. The right to seek medical assistance, especially in times of crisis, should never be denied.”
“The world cannot stand silent while hospitals, which should be safe havens, are transformed into scenes of death, devastation, and despair.”
“Decisive international action is needed now to secure an immediate humanitarian ceasefire and prevent further loss of life, and preserve what’s left of the health care system in Gaza.”
WHO chief Tedros Ghebreyesus released a separate statement on X, calling the situation “dire and perilous”.
“It’s been 3 days without electricity, without water and with very poor internet which has severely impacted our ability to provide essential care. The constant gunfire and bombings in the area have exacerbated the already critical circumstances.”
“Tragically, the number of patient fatalities has increased significantly. Regrettably, the hospital is not functioning as a hospital anymore. The world cannot stand silent while hospitals, which should be safe havens, are transformed into scenes of death, devastation, and despair.”
On Sunday, Foreign minister Penny Wong appeared on ABC’s Insiders, reiterating a call for international effort to seek a two-state solution.
Wong told host David Speers, she is “deeply concerned” about the “humanitarian catastrophe” occurring in Gaza, suggesting that “steps towards” a ceasefire “cannot be one-sided.”
“Hamas still holds hostages, Hamas is still attacking Israel,” she said. “We know that a ceasefire must be agreed between the parties.”
“How Israel defends itself matters, and when we affirm Israel’s right to defend itself what we are also saying is Israel must comply and observe international humanitarian law.”
“Israel should do everything it can to observe international humanitarian law. We have seen a harrowing number of civilians, including children, killed. This has to end. And we are particularly concerned with what is happening with medical facilities.”
When asked about Benjamin Netanyahu’s comments last week that Israel will maintain “overall security responsibility in Gaza once it removes Hamas from power,” Wong said the conflict indicates “there is no just and enduring peace without a political process towards a two‑state solution, and that two‑state solution, a just and enduring peace, Palestinians and Israelis living within internationally recognised borders, is the only pathway for security both for Israel and for Palestinians.”
Several media commentators and journalists have used their platform to highlight their views on the latest, ongoing horrors occurring in Gaza.
Last week, journalist Antoinette Lattouf linked a satirical TikTok where she provides “7 *hot tips* for Hollywood actors, politicians and media commentators to show the Israeli Defence Force unconditional support,” — underlining the biased news coverage of the situation.
“Israelis get killed…Palestinians just die. Language matters. Israelis are always killed. You can also use the word slaughtered, barbaric attacks…when describing their tragic deaths — but for Palestinians, given the body count exceeds 10,000, best keep it ambiguous — like, all these Palestinians have died but we don’t know how.”
Lattouf also pointed to the discrimination of child victims and the ones who are mourned publicly.
“Some kids matter more than others,” she said. “So if you’ve got to choose between sharing a photo of one child victim make sure it’s a blonde white one from Israel, even though there are far more brown Arab kids being slaughtered…people will click more and care more.”
Lattouf wrote on X days earlier:
“It’s utterly unconscionable that we’re allowing the slaughter of 3000+ children & other civilians to continue in Gaza. It’s time Australian politicians & news editors stop reciting IDF talking points. There’s nothing complex about this situation. These are horrific war crimes.”
Journalist Jan Fran has been using her platform similarly to pinpoint the “gross asymmetry of power and authority” regarding the conflict.
On November 5, Fran released a statement on her socials, stressing the risk of “obscur[ing] the truth and do[ing] the bidding of the powerful” in the “noble pursuit of impartiality and balance.”
“But at what cost does this pursuit come?” she asked. “If the world can look upon Israel/Palestine as a “conflict” between two sides, despite mounting, readily available evidence showing a gross asymmetry of power and authority, who does that serve?”
In her latest Instagram post, Fran made a carousel of text followed by an image of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and US President Joe Biden, adding: “Call for a ceasefire you absolute fucking ghouls.”
“4,506 Palestinian children have been killed by Israel,” Fran wrote. “The number of children reported killed in Gaza in just three weeks has surpassed the annual number of children killed across the world’s conflict zones since 2019.”
Earlier this month, Palestinian ambassador to Australia Ali Kazak published an open letter to ABC managing director David Anderson, denouncing the network for its “Israeli propaganda”.
“The ABC deals with the Israeli Palestinian conflict from an Israeli perspective, adopting all its claims, propaganda, and deceptions without examining their credibility, as if Israel is an innocent party and the victim of Palestinian and Arab aggression, overlooking the fact that Israel is a colonial apartheid state established on the destruction and occupation of Palestine and ethnic cleansing of over 70 percent of its people on racial grounds,” Kazak wrote.
“Israel is an aggressor and occupier, racially discriminating against the Palestinian people and denying them their inalienable right to return to their country, equality, and self-determination.”