Qatar Condemns Deliberate Targeting of Hospitals in Gaza, Calls for Support for All Urgent Measures to Prevent Health Catastrophe
Geneva - Media & Communication Dept. - 10 December 2023
The State of Qatar condemned the deliberate targeting of many hospitals and health centers in the Gaza Strip, the targeting of ambulances, preventing the arrival of medical supplies and fuel, and detaining and killing many healthcare workers. The State of Qatar calls on everyone to support all urgent and effective measures to prevent a health catastrophe in the Strip.
This came in a statement of the State of Qatar delivered by HE Permanent Representative of the State of Qatar to the United Nations (UN) Office in Geneva Dr. Hind Abdulrahman Al Muftah during the Special Session of the World Health Organization (WHO) Executive Board on the health conditions in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem, held in Geneva.
Her Excellency underlined that these criminal acts are part of a deliberate plan aimed at putting hospitals out of service, limiting their medical and therapeutic capabilities, and turning them into unsafe places for patients and civilians who resort to them in search of protection. She noted that the targeting was carried out in violation of all legal, ethical and humanitarian laws, and under false pretexts and clear lies, with the aim of justifying the crimes and violations committed.
Her Excellency warned that military policies and operations in southern Gaza would lead to a scenario similar to what occurred in northern Gaza, especially with regard to causing the greatest number of casualties among civilians and depriving them of treatment and health care, with the aim of making the Gaza Strip uninhabitable and forcibly displacing Palestinians. She noted that the number of displaced people has reached more than 2.2 million.
Her Excellency stated that civil and medical facilities and their personnel are protected under international humanitarian law and the Geneva Conventions and that countries are obligated to ensure their safety and protection in times of war. She urged the international community to adopt a more balanced and just stance and to hold its legal, moral and humanitarian responsibilities towards the situation in the Gaza Strip.
Her Excellency affirmed that the State of Qatar has spared no effort in supporting the brotherly Palestinian people and will continue to provide the necessary support for humanitarian and medical response plans, facilitate medical evacuations and treat the ill and wounded, as well as facilitate the arrival of humanitarian aid, medical supplies and medicines. The State of Qatar will continue its diplomatic efforts to reach a cessation of fighting, spare civilians from its consequences, and end the collective punishment imposed on the Gaza Strip.
HE Permanent Representative of the State of Qatar to the UN Office in Geneva Dr. Hind Abdulrahman Al Muftah called on all member states of the WHO Executive Board to assume their responsibilities and unanimously adopt the draft resolution presented at this special session, which is an important step towards alleviating the human and health suffering experienced by the Palestinian people and sends a message that the international community will not abandon them in these difficult times.