Oxfam Ireland condemns Israeli war crimes

“People in Gaza are starving and it is taking place in full knowledge of the rest of the world. The IPC have told us that Gaza is at risk of famine unless the situation drastically and rapidly changes. The travesty behind this tragedy is that it would be an entirely man-made famine caused by the actions of the government of Israel.

“Before this invasion 80% of Gazans were dependent on aid. We know that conflict always hits the poorest hardest. To block this lifeline for months is an ongoing war crime by the government of Israel.

“The people of Gaza need an immediate ceasefire; they need access to humanitarian aid at sufficient scale to feed the 90% of the population who are dealing with a food crisis, some a catastrophe. Mothers are going hungry so their children can eat.

“There are countries shielding Israel from facing up to its responsibilities and changing course, even at this late stage. Ireland at least is not one of them. We call on Ireland to redouble its efforts in the EU, UN and all international fora to alert our allies to the entirely preventable nature of this disaster and to convince them that collective punishment of a civilian population is not what we, nor they should stand for”.