Olga Cherevko, Gaza spokesman for the UN Coordination Office, Ocha, warned that history will not judge the international community “based on the speeches we made” but on actions.
Speaking from Deir Al-Balah, she delivered a blunt message: “When Gaza burned, and the children hungry, and the hospitals collapsed, did you act?”
‘Ciudad de Gaza’ death sentence ‘
She said that last Tuesday, the city of Gaza “received a death sentence”, with hundreds of thousands of battered civilians ordered that they flee to an already crowded area where “even small animals have to look for spaces to press the means to move.”
On the other side of the strip, the situation is serious. A friend sent him a text message on Thursday saying that they tried to find space in the south, but there were none.
“His 8 -year -old cousin was instantly killed in an Israeli strike along with several other children last week while waiting for some bread to be baked,” journalists from the UN headquarters told journalists.
The friend of the friend, who recently turned two years old, has not known anything more than war, he added.
Death, despair and destruction
“The unmistakable smell of death is everywhere: a spooky reminder that the ruins that line the streets hide the remains of mothers, fathers, children“Mrs. Cherevko continued.
“The humans who used to laugh, cry, dream. Their lives are poured through the killing machines of the war, many of those who will never find again.”
While the humanitarians returned to Gaza on Thursday, anguished people crowded around their convoy “pleading that this horror stopped,” he said.
“Dignity and hope have been stripped, with each murder of a loved one, with each strike in a civil life line, with each access denial.”
She said that “The race against time, against death, against the spread of famine, feels as if we, as humanitians, run through the Movedizas sands.. Even more, since humanitarian convoys are denied, delayed or obstructed by Israeli authorities. ”
Humanity shines through
He pointed out that even in the midst of difficulties “humanity shines”, pointing out “Palestinian doctors, nurses and paramedics who work throughout the day, often without pay, medicine or electricity.”
This also includes the help workers of the UN agencies, the red crescent and other organizations that “deliver food, medicine and clean water under fire”, as well as the common people who share what little they have with strangers.
“In each act of attention, a refusal to let cruelty define the future. Proof that even in the darkest times, the human spirit lasts,” he said.
Hope and action
Mrs. Cherevko shared that she is often asked if she has any hope.
“Hope can be everything we have left, so we must nourish it,” he said. “But hope will not keep people alive. Urgent decisions are needed that must pave the way to a lasting peace before it is too late. “
She emphasized that “the people of Gaza are not asking for charity. They are asking for their right to live safely, with dignity, in peace,” and adds that “our humanity, yours, mine, all of us, demand that we act now.”
He concluded his comments by insisting that “today, and every day, it is a new opportunity for the international community to coincide with the words with action. Do not miss it as the last could be.”