Canadian non-profits demand action from international community as Israeli invasion of Gaza City begins
Why It Matters
More than 60,000 civilians have died and hundreds of thousands more have been injured since Oct. 6, 2023 in the Gaza Strip. Israel's plan to invade the city will only worsen the humanitarian crisis by leading to disease, more hunger and trauma for a population already on the verge of starvation. Local charities say Canada's lack of condemnation of these actions cannot be ignored.
Canadian non-profits joined voices Tuesday to condemn a planned invasion of Gaza City, calling the action illegal and a terrifying measure that will lead to more deaths.
“Israel’s intent to displace around 1 million civilians, half of whom are living in famine, is impossible,” said Oxfam Canada in a statement sent to media on Wednesday.
“This is the latest chapter in the genocide that Israel is committing in Gaza and part of a broader campaign of ethnic cleansing engulfing the entire Gaza Strip, where nothing and no one has been spared.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued the order for ground forces to move in and warned residents to leave immediately on Monday.
“Our forces are gathering and getting ready for entering the city of Gaza,” he said, reported by the Associated Press, Reuters and AFP. “You have been warned!”
Oxfam said the plan to move one million people into just 42 sq. kms of ill-equipped space is inhumane, “physically impossible and would compound disease and hunger and be a flagrant breach of international humanitarian law.”
Israel began restricting the flow of goods and people into the walled enclave in the early 1990s. It intensified its blockade in 2007, a move long defined as illegal collective punishment by international humanitarian organizations.
In October 2023, Israel announced a “total blockade” on food, water, medicine, fuel and electricity. It later eased some restrictions, before re-intensifying its siege of the Gaza Strip in recent months.
The American-backed and Israeli-controlled Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) assumed control of aid operations three months ago, resulting in more than 1,000 violent deaths at the hands of Israeli forces and military contractors.
In mid-August, famine was declared in Gaza, marked by widespread starvation, destitution and preventable deaths, according to a new Integrated Food Security Phase Classification analysis. Famine conditions are projected to spread from the Gaza Governorate to Deir Al Balah and Khan Younis Governorates in the coming weeks.
Since October 2023, more than 60,000 people have died and 150,000 people have been wounded, according to Gaza’s health ministry.
“For many families, this is the umpteenth time they have been uprooted, stripped of any safety or stability. The compounded trauma of repeated displacement is devastating, particularly for persons with disabilities, who face immense challenges in accessing safe shelter, medical care, and basic services amid escalating violence,” said Anne-Claire Yaeesh, Country Director of Humanity and Inclusion Canada.
“Eighty-three per cent of persons with disabilities in Gaza have lost their assistive devices … This is a death sentence for them.”
Both organizations admonished the international community, including Canada, for its lack of action.
“The absence of accountability reflects a deeply troubling normalization of Israel’s impunity and underscores the ongoing, blatant violations of International Humanitarian Law. Civilians are being deliberately targeted while those with the power to act fail to intervene,” said Yaeesh.
-With files from Sharlene Gandhi
Tell us this made you smarter | Contact us | Report error
