Northern Gaza is "being erased": Dozens of international aid agencies sound alarm

Jabalia, Gaza - Oxfam and 37 other aid organizations have issued a joint statement condemning Israel's blatant human rights violations and warning that northern Gaza is "being erased."

Palestinian children stand next to tents at a make-shift camp for the internally displaced in Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip on October 17, 2024.
Palestinian children stand next to tents at a make-shift camp for the internally displaced in Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip on October 17, 2024.  © Eyad BABA / AFP

The statement – signed by Oxfam, Churches for Middle East Peace, the Middle East Children's Alliance, KinderUSA, and more – outlines the devastating conditions in northern Gaza as Israel continues to block the delivery of humanitarian aid.

An estimated 400,000 Palestinians are trapped in the area with no food allowed in since the start of the month, the organizations state.

Hospitals are overwhelmed and lacking critical resources as Israeli bombs continue to fall on forcibly displaced and starving people who have repeatedly been ordered to "evacuate" – with no safe place left to go.

Joke of the Night for November 20, 2024: The best jokes to laugh the day away
Joke of the Day Joke of the Night for November 20, 2024: The best jokes to laugh the day away

"The Israeli military has contacted us more than once to evacuate the hospital… [All] the departments are full of wounded people and we are discharging even the wounded who have minor or moderate injuries, because we do not have [enough] beds for them," said Dr. Mohammed Salha, acting director of Al-Awda Hospital in northern Gaza.

"I [told the Israeli military] clearly that we would not evacuate the hospital unless there are ambulances that can preserve the lives of the wounded people we have and reach another hospital that provides better service to the wounded," he continued.

The organizations' joint statement calls for a ceasefire in Gaza and unrestricted access for humanitarian aid agencies, as well as an end to Israel's illegal occupation of Palestine.

"This is not a time for silence – this is a time for action," the organizations urge. "The people of Gaza cannot wait. The world must intervene now before more innocent lives are lost."

Cover photo: Eyad BABA / AFP

More on Israel-Gaza War: