The conclusion is clear. “Gaza is today the most critical place to operate as a humanitarian on the planet.” Benjamin Gaudin, head of operations in the Middle East for the Première Urgence Internationale organization, assures us: “there is no longer any safe place in Gaza today.” While NGOs warn every day of the worsening situation for the civilian population in the Palestinian enclave and the increasing difficulty of their conditions of intervention, the death, Monday April 1, of seven humanitarian workers from the NGO World Central Kitchen, killed by an Israeli army strike, marked a new turning point. If the Israeli army has recognized a “series of serious errors”, international pressure on the Jewish state, particularly from the United States, is becoming more and more insistent.
This tragedy has hit all NGOs hard. “It’s always a shock to see humanitarian workers die in their mission,” laments Lucile Marbeau, spokesperson for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). “But unfortunately they are not the first to have been killed while trying to assist the civilian population in Gaza,” she continues, as the UN brings to nearly 200 the number of humanitarian workers who have died since the terrorist attack. of October 7 and the resurgence of the conflict in the Middle East.
Communication between Israel and NGOs questions
An increasingly degraded security situation is pushing NGOs to rethink, and for some, even to suspend their intervention. This is the case of World Central Kitchen as well as Open Arms which were notably at the heart of the humanitarian maritime corridor system.
“When you see organizations suspending their activities, it is because the minimum guarantees for humanitarian workers, but also the beneficiaries, are not obtained,” deplores Benjamin Gaudin who criticizes the clearly altered conditions of intervention in recent weeks. “Until now, we have operated with validation of our movements by the Israeli army. When we launch an activity to provide care, distribute water or food, we inform the Israeli state of our point of action. departure, our point of arrival, and the objective of our movement, in order not to be hit by an attack. Until now, we obtained an acknowledgment of receipt from Israel. Except that for the past two weeks, Israel no longer gives us any notification. So we don’t know if the Israeli army took our trip into account”, worries the head of Première Urgence Internationale.
A scenario which sadly recalls the tragic episode of the humanitarians of the NGO World Central Kitchen, who claim to have “coordinated their movements with the Israeli army”. The latter, stressing that she had wanted to target a “Hamas gunman” firing from the roof of one of the aid trucks, confirmed “violations of normal operating procedures”. The IDF notably recognized a breakdown in communication, with information concerning this WCK convoy not having been transmitted to the drone team responsible for the strikes. Two of the officers will also be fired soon.
Explanations and excuses from the Hebrew State which are no longer enough to convince the NGOs with whom the gap is widening a little more every day. “We see very clearly that there is no protection for humanitarian workers and that there are targeted attacks. This reflects continued intimidation by the Israeli army. The excuse of the ‘terrible mistake’ is absolutely unacceptable”, accuses Helena Ranchal, director of international operations for Médecins du Monde, who affirms that the NGO’s premises in Gaza City were also violently attacked. Similar observation from Médecins sans Frontières, which assures that five members of their team have already died since the start of the conflict, out of nearly 300 people operating in Gaza. “This type of attack is either intentional or indicative of dangerous incompetence,” criticizes its secretary general Christopher Lockyear.
A deteriorating humanitarian situation
This attack takes place in the context of an already infinitely complex humanitarian situation in Gaza. “We see crush injuries to the abdomen, to the thorax. Amputations of the legs and arms are often necessary, faced with patients who also suffer from serious burns,” Marie-Aure Perreaut Revial, coordinator, explained to the press. emergency for Médecins sans Frontières, saying that doctors were also “now seeing children with gunshot wounds”, via drone shots. “No health system in the world can cope with the volume and type of injuries and conditions that we see every day,” she said, describing surgeries performed on the floor with patients whose wounds become infected…
“I have been a caregiver in violent conflicts for 20 years. But what we see in Gaza, we have never seen it elsewhere, due to the magnitude of the disaster. The civilian population is today completely trapped” , worries Helena Ranchal. A humanitarian drama which directly affects the living conditions of its actors, who are also inevitably affected by food shortages or very difficult access to drinking water. “We see a clear physical deterioration among many colleagues, some of them have lost more than 20 kilos. There is also real psychological exhaustion from having to work every day in totally saturated hospitals,” continues the director of operations. International Doctors of the World.
Humanitarian aid, still insufficient, remains mainly limited to southern Gaza. “With the displacement of combat over the months, the secure humanitarian space has deteriorated over time. It is not only a question of supplies, which are already insufficient, but also of the operational capacity to be able to transport and deploy humanitarian assistance in a safe manner. Even further north of Gaza, where the population is totally destitute and in a critical situation”, explains Lucile Marbeau of the ICRC, pointing out the danger of “debris and unexploded munitions”, such as anti-tank mines, which pose a permanent risk to humanitarian organizations during their travels.
Pressure for a ceasefire
For NGOs, it is above all humanitarian law that is not respected, against the backdrop of the decision of the International Court of Justice (ICJ), calling on the State of Israel to “take all measures to prevent a genocide”, as well as the UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire. “We are simply calling for respect for the framework of international humanitarian law. Organizing a blockade on an enclave is illegal. Forcing population movements is illegal. Hitting humanitarian actors or hospitals is illegal. Israel has signed the conventions on humanitarian law, it is up to the international community to put pressure on them so that they respect it,” accuses Benjamin Gaudin.
Faced with increasing international pressure, particularly from Joe Biden, Israel announced this Friday the opening of two new “temporary” humanitarian access points, through the port of Ashdon and the Efez crossing, in the north of the Palestinian enclave. “This is very good news, which will allow access to northern Gaza in particular. But we now have to see how this distribution can be organized,” underlines Lucile Marbeau.
“Humanitarian assistance is not charity, but a right for civilian populations and a duty for belligerents,” continues the ICRC spokesperson, who also recalls the “ordeal” and “immense pain” of the hostages. Israelis still detained by Hamas and their families. “We are dependent on political and diplomatic agreements. We do not sit at the negotiating table, and that is not our role,” she adds, calling once again for “the actors influential people on the international scene are really pushing for better respect for humanitarian law as long as the fighting continues. We need at least a truce to allow massive assistance for civilian populations. But also, of course, a lasting political solution and a cease-fire. the final fire”.
But while the Israeli government continues to raise the threat of a military intervention in Rafah, where there are more than a million and a half Gazans, “a future carnage” according to Première Urgence Internationale, concern remains omnipresent. “Every minute, I fear for all my colleagues,” confides Helena Ranchal, of Médecins du Monde. “There is only one solution to all this, and that is an immediate and lasting ceasefire. “With the extent of the damage in Gaza, a truce will not make a difference. We need a cessation of hostilities, bring in all the humanitarian equipment possible, and let us do our job.”
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