Amnesty International accused Israel Thursday of "committing genocide" against Palestinians in Gaza since the start of the war last year, saying its new report was a "wake-up call" for the world. FRANCE 24's Sharon Gaffney speaks to IFRC's Tommaso Della Longa. He says that the aid trickling into Gaza is “less than a drop in the ocean”, pointing out that the lack of access and secure passage for aid workers is leading to “horrific” outcomes among the devastated population.
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00:00As the Israeli military pushes on with its bombardment of Gaza, dozens more people have
00:08been killed, including at least 20 people in an attack that set ablaze tents sheltering
00:14displaced families in a crowded camp.
00:17It came as rights group Amnesty International released a report saying that Israel's actions
00:23in Gaza met the definition of the crime of genocide.
00:27A damning report which casts the state of Israel in a negative light.
00:38Amnesty International has accused Israeli authorities of carrying out genocide against
00:42Palestinians based on evidence and statements made by officials, a pattern of conduct the
00:48rights group says cannot be explained by recklessness.
00:53Israel intended and intend to commit genocide.
00:58It may do so alongside its military objective.
01:02It may do so in addition to obliterate or get rid of Hamas.
01:08We looked at the cumulative effect of these acts one after the other.
01:15We looked at the incredible impact of Israel's crimes over the last 14 months.
01:23The assessment from the London-based human rights organisation, which came after months
01:27of analysis, was welcomed by Palestinian officials.
01:31And on the ground in Gaza, residents said it served as proof the war was more than a
01:35fight with Hamas.
01:39This is a war of extermination, it's not a war on Hamas.
01:43This is a war of extermination against the entire Palestinian population, that's clear.
01:49What have we done?
01:50What have our neighbours done to deserve this?
01:52They're all civilians, they all have children.
01:55Israeli officials have slammed Amnesty's findings, calling them deplorable and entirely fabricated.
02:01The country alleging it's defending itself in accordance with international law.
02:06Amnesty International is calling on states who support the RCC's arrest warrant on Russian
02:10President Vladimir Putin to do the same for Benjamin Netanyahu, arguing double standards
02:15cannot exist in the implementation of justice.
02:22To discuss the ever-worsening humanitarian crisis in Gaza, we're joined by Tommaso Dalla
02:27Longa, spokesperson with the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent
02:32Societies.
02:33Thank you so much for being with us on the programme this evening.
02:36Before we turn to what's happening in Gaza, to the wider context there, another one of
02:41your volunteers was killed yesterday in the Gaza Strip.
02:44A paramedic shot dead after returning from transporting patients for treatment.
02:50How difficult is it for those who are risking their lives to help people there?
02:56Thanks a lot for this important question.
02:59It's almost impossible to work in the context of the Gaza Strip, and sadly, the numbers
03:07of women and men of Palestine Red Crescent lost their life since the beginning of the
03:13conflict is telling us this story.
03:15Since the beginning of the conflict, we lost 23 colleagues of Palestine Red Crescent, six
03:20of them in Israel, and this is a clear reminder of a conflict that is not even respecting
03:27humanitarian workers.
03:28And Tommaso, today is also International Volunteer Day, a moment really to come together to call
03:34for the protection of all volunteers, but it seems that that message isn't getting through
03:39when it comes to what's happening on the ground in Gaza.
03:42Indeed.
03:43I mean, I cannot avoid to say that the level of frustration in the humanitarian community
03:49is growing day after day when we are witnessing what is going on in Gaza, but also other contexts
03:56like Sudan, for example.
03:59Just to give you an idea, this is the worst, deadliest year on the record in terms of humanitarian
04:05workers.
04:06281 humanitarian workers killed in one year, 32 of those are Red Crescent volunteers, the
04:14biggest number in Palestine and in Sudan.
04:18And I think that today it's very important to recall all the governments, all the parties,
04:23every stakeholder to do their utmost to respect the civilians, to protect civilians, humanitarian
04:29workers.
04:30It's not only a moral obligation, but it's a legal obligation under international humanitarian
04:34law.
04:35And how much aid is actually at this point getting through to Gaza?
04:39We're hearing that, you know, in terms of humanitarian getting aid, it's been essentially
04:43completely blocked off for two months now.
04:47So where is the aid getting to and how much is getting into people who desperately need
04:52it in Gaza?
04:53Aid is basically not entering or trickling in here and there, but it's less, way less
05:00than a drop in the ocean.
05:02We were using the words drop in the ocean six months ago, when the Rafah border was
05:07still open, the border between Gaza and Egypt, and it's not anymore the case.
05:12And I mean, just to give you again a number, 96% of the people in Gaza don't receive enough
05:19food.
05:20Starvation will be basically inevitable if we're not able to scale up humanitarian assistance,
05:27if we're not able to get more aid in.
05:29But to do that, we need to have safe and indirect access.
05:32To do that, we need to have an agreement to scale up humanitarian operation.
05:36And sadly, it's not what we are seeing at the moment in the Gaza Strip.
05:41How do you believe the international community can put pressure on Israel to allow more aid
05:46into Gaza?
05:47And why has this not been happening?
05:49As you say yourself, we've been speaking about this for at least six months now.
05:53This is a very good question.
05:56Of course, the international community, diplomatic community, has different tools in terms of
06:02putting pressure on the different parties.
06:07It's clear that dialogue, maybe it's lacking.
06:13But even more than dialogue is the decision-making process.
06:18And also, I would say, to put humanity first in every kind of discussion on the Gaza Strip.
06:26What we need to remember all the time, that after 13 months of this horrific, awful conflict,
06:31that there are families who are still waiting their beloved at home, I'm talking about the
06:36families of the hostages, there are families who are not able to give food to their kids.
06:42And I'm talking about the families in northern Gaza, in Gaza City, and so on.
06:46So I think that, again, we need to put at the center humanity, human beings, respect
06:52for all of them.
06:53But the reality is that there is not any more time.
06:55Winter again is at the door of the Gaza Strip.
06:58A few days ago, areas of, there was heavy rain and areas of Gaza were completely destroyed
07:05basically by the flooding.
07:06And again and again, Palestinians lost everything.
07:09So there is a need of action, and there is a need of action now.
07:13And again, frustration is really high, because we are seeing the suffering, we are seeing
07:17the normalization of the suffering in the Gaza Strip, but we are not seeing action.
07:22And Amnesty today, another big story, Amnesty accusing for the first time Israel of genocide.
07:29What is the Red Cross view when it comes to that?
07:32What do your volunteers see when they're on the ground in Gaza?
07:37You know, of course, we do respect the work of other organization, of human rights organization.
07:44Then, of course, our mandate is different.
07:49And we don't want to be caught in the middle of, let's say, discussion among the organization
07:55governments and so on, because at the end of the day, our ultimate goal is to get access
08:00and to reach the people who need mostly everything at the moment in the Gaza Strip.
08:06What I can tell you, though, is the stories, the horrific stories of the volunteers of
08:10the Palestine Recrescent, who are basically doing their utmost till now, we're talking
08:15about almost 1,500 women and men who are still incredibly working after 13 months with very
08:21limited capacity.
08:22But their stories are horrific.
08:23They are themselves affected by the conflict.
08:26They are themselves living in tents without running water.
08:30They themselves lost their beloved, but they are still working in an impossible context.
08:35And I have to admit that the thing that makes us more sad and frustrated is the lack of
08:40respect of international laws.
08:42There is an erosion of this respect that, of course, is creating huge problems on the
08:47operation in the Gaza Strip.
08:50And Thomas, we talk a lot about the number of people who are dying in Gaza.
08:54Of course, hundreds of thousands also very badly wounded.
08:58The WHO says more than 20,000 children.
09:02What is the implication for them?
09:04How is care getting to these people who have been so badly wounded when so many hospitals,
09:10so many of them are just simply not functioning at this point?
09:15The implication is basically the difference between life and death for many.
09:20But I would also not only refer to the wounded, which, of course, are an incredible number
09:25and they need to be treated and they don't have access to health.
09:29But here we are talking about the lack of any basic in terms of health.
09:34So I mean, I'm a father and I mean, during the flu season, my kid has to take antibiotics.
09:44Without those antibiotics, probably would have been a complication.
09:47Well, in Gaza, there is no antibiotics.
09:51There is no basics for kids, for children, for pregnant women, for people with health
09:57conditions thinking about chemotherapy or people with diabetes.
10:03And of course, this is impacting heavily the entire society.
10:07And this will have an impact for the, I would say, years, probably decades to come in terms
10:13of health, in terms of access to water, in terms of access to food.
10:17And this is absolutely unacceptable and horrific.
10:20And what is the international community doing in terms of helping to get patients who badly
10:25need treatment out of Gaza?
10:28You know, this is, thanks for this question, this is exactly staying in the same box of
10:34the discussion we were in before in terms of dialogue and lack of actions.
10:39We have been talking about safe access.
10:41We have been talking about evacuation of patients.
10:43We have been talking of protection of civilians and humanitarian workers.
10:46We have been talking of the release of all hostages, but we are not seeing any action
10:51in the Gaza Strip.
10:52We're not seeing any next step on the situation in the Gaza Strip.
10:58And of course, this is very sad.
11:00Now, of course, there is still, I mean, till the moment that there is still some discussion,
11:06there is still some hope.
11:07I need to stay optimistic, but I would say that, again, the level of frustration is very
11:12high and the people in the Gaza Strip don't have any more time to wait.
11:16Even more the wounded or the people who need treatment should be evacuated immediately.
11:21OK, Tommaso, we'll have to leave it there for now.
11:23But thank you so much for your time on the programme this evening.
11:26That is Tommaso Della Lunga, spokesperson with the International Federation of the Red
11:30Cross and Red Crescent Societies.
11:34Well, that's it from us.