UN coordinator considers the war in Gaza a “betrayal of humanity”

United Nations (agencies)

Yesterday, United Nations relief operations official Martin Griffiths described the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip, which has been ongoing for six months, as a “betrayal of humanity.”
In a statement issued in New York on the eve of the six-month anniversary of the war, Griffiths called for “a collective determination to hold accountable those responsible for this betrayal of humanity.”
He also noted that despite “universal discontent,” “little has been accomplished to put an end to the war, in favor of great impunity.” “For the people of Gaza, the six months of war brought nothing but death, destruction and the possibility of imminent human-caused famine,” Griffiths added. He believed that “the six months of war should not only be a moment of remembrance and mourning. This matter should also lead to a collective reaction, with the aim of holding accountable this betrayal of humanity.” Two weeks ago, Griffiths announced his resignation as Assistant Secretary-General of the United Nations for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator in the organization “for health reasons,” but he will remain in his position until June.
In recent months, he has made repeated calls to facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid to the residents of Gaza, denouncing what the Israeli authorities are doing to prevent this.
For its part, the World Health Organization yesterday condemned the “massive destruction” to the largest hospital in Gaza as a result of the recent Israeli siege, and it has become an “empty structure” except for corpses.
Members of the World Health Organization mission who were able to reach the destroyed facility the day before yesterday described horrific scenes.
Israeli forces withdrew from Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, last Monday, after a two-week military operation inside what was previously the most important medical complex in the Palestinian Strip. A World Health Organization mission was able to enter the hospital the day before yesterday, after a series of failed attempts since March 25, according to the United Nations “body,” which condemned the massive destruction there.
She found massive destruction and heard testimonies that patients were “held in miserable conditions” during the siege, and that many of them died.
A post by WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on the “X” platform said: “The World Health Organization and its partners were able to gain access to the Al-Shifa Complex, which was once the backbone of the health system in Gaza, and which is now an empty shell.”
The World Health Organization said in a statement that no patients remained in the hospital, as “several shallow graves” had been dug outside the emergency department and administrative and surgical buildings.