Palestinians struggle to find safe area

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Gaza Strip situation requires rapid aid: KRCS

JERUSALEM, Oct 11, (Agencies): Palestinians in the sealed-off Gaza Strip struggled to find any safe area Wednesday, as Israeli strikes demolished entire neighborhoods, hospitals ran low on supplies and the territory’s only power plant ran out of fuel, deepening the misery of a war sparked by a stunning and deadly assault by Hamas militants. Airstrikes smashed entire city blocks to rubble in the tiny coastal enclave and left unknown numbers of bodies beneath mounds of debris.

The bombardment raged on even though militants were holding an estimated 150 people snatched from Israel – soldiers, men, women, children, and older adults. Meanwhile, the Secretary General of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Jasem Al Budaiwi on Tuesday stressed that the six-member GCC is united and related to the Palestinian cause. Speaking at a press conference after the EU-GCC joint Council and Ministerial meeting in Muscat, Oman, this afternoon he said “We are unified with the Palestinian cause and on the two-state solution.” Al-Budawi stressed that the GCC rejects all attacks against civilians and hoped that a swift solution shall be reached for the Palestinian cause in order for the Palestinian population to live in peace according to the two-state solution and in alignment with international and UN resolutions.

Referring to the outcome of Tuesday’s meeting, he said they discussed in addition to regional and international issues, EU-GCC relations and cooperation in a number of areas. They spoke about intensifying economic cooperation, increasing trade and investment levels, and coordination on humanitarian assistance as well as counter-terrorism and cyber security issues. They also discussed climate change, energy security, health, education, and research and preliminary agreed to launch a regional forum on security matters for exchanging ideas to on security on the regional and international level, he said.

On his part, Sayyid Bader Bin Hamad Al-Busaidi, Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Sultanate of Oman, the host of the meeting, told the joint press conference that the EU and the GCC agreed on the importance of self-restraint and de-escalation and protection of children in addition to releasing civilian prisoners from both the Palestinian and Israeli sides. The best way to achieve peace is to find a solution on the basis of the two-state solution, he stressed. The Kuwait Red Crescent Society (KRCS) said Wednesday, that the tragic conditions of the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip require rapid action to provide aid to victims of Israeli occupation army attacks and to ensure respect for the principles of international humanitarian law and related agreements. This came in KRCS Secretary General Maha Al-Barjas’ statement to KUNA, on the sidelines of the emergency meeting of the Arab Red Crescent and Red Cross Organization (ARCO) video conference.

This meeting was held at the request of KRCS, in light of the ongoing Israeli aggression, which left large numbers of martyrs, wounded and led to the displacement of thousands of Palestinians from their homes, Al-Barjas said. Al-Barjas stressed the importance of highlighting the violations taking place in the Palestinian territories and the need to call on the international community to assume responsibility in this regard. The meeting discussed the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip, in addition to coordination in providing aid to those affected and doubling efforts due to the tragic conditions of Palestinian people, she added. It also condemned the Israeli occupation’s attacks and called on the international community and the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement to intervene urgently to stop these attacks, Al-Barjas said.

The meeting stressed the need to exert humanitarian efforts to provide support to the Palestinian Red Crescent and called on the national societies and Arab bodies to stand with the Palestinian people. It also urged the international community with its governmental and non-governmental organizations to take rapid action to stop military operations and oblige the Israeli occupation to respect the basic principles of international humanitarian law and binding agreement to ensure the protection of civilians in all occupied Palestinian territories and open crossings to deliver aid, she added. KRCS worked on launching a series of activities to provide urgent assistance to the displaced in Gaza by distributing food supplies, daily meals, and medical supplies to confront this attack in cooperation with Arab Red Crescent societies and humanitarian organizations.

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