A group of distinguished world leaders, known as The Elders, has characterized the situation in the Gaza Strip as an “unfolding genocide,” calling for decisive measures to halt Israel's obstruction of aid into the besieged Palestinian territory, which is causing a “famine.”
The Elders, a nongovernmental organization founded by former South African President Nelson Mandela in 2007 to address global human rights issues and abuses, made the remarks in a statement on Tuesday, following its delegates’ visit to the Rafah border crossing in Egypt.
“Today we express our shock and outrage at Israel’s deliberate obstruction of the entry of life-saving humanitarian aid into Gaza,” the group said.
“What we saw and heard underlines our personal conviction that there is not only an unfolding, human-caused famine in Gaza. There is an unfolding genocide,” it added.
Helen Clark, former prime minister of New Zealand, emphasized the urgent need for Israel to open the Rafah border crossing to allow the delivery of aid after her visit to the site.
She also highlighted the dire consequences, including new mothers being unable to adequately feed themselves and their newborns, as well as the collapsing health system, which collectively pose a threat to the survival of an entire generation.
Mary Robinson, former president of Ireland and former UN high commissioner for human rights, also echoed the call for action, stating that international leaders have both the power and the legal obligation to pressure the Israeli regime to end “its atrocity crimes.”
The latest declaration regarding the situation in Gaza comes amid growing international outrage over reports of widespread starvation in the blockaded territory.
Israel launched a genocidal war on Gaza on October 7, 2023, after the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas waged the surprise Operation Al-Aqsa Flood against the occupying entity in response to the regime's decades-long campaign of death and devastation against Palestinians.
The occupying regime has sealed all border crossings, blocking the entry of all aid and worsening the already dire humanitarian conditions in the territory since March 2, when it violated its ceasefire agreement with Hamas.
Experts have warned that without immediate action to ease restrictions and ensure access to aid, the humanitarian situation is likely to worsen and deepen the suffering of civilians caught in the crossfire.
Israel has rejected calls from the UN, aid agencies, and world leaders to allow more aid trucks into the besieged region to alleviate the crisis.
The regime’s bloody onslaught on Gaza has so far killed at least 60,939 Palestinians, mostly women and children.
According to the Gaza Health Ministry, the death toll from Israel’s starvation of Gaza has climbed to 222, among them 101 children.
