“After nearly two years of merciless killings and destruction, hundreds of thousands of people have been killed and wounded, and the demolition of countless cities and residential buildings, the oppressed Palestinians in the Gaza Strip live under horrifying circumstances,” Ayatollah Sistani said in a statement Friday evening.
He warned that the extent of hunger in besieged coastal slivers has increased dramatically, and that population segments will not be affected.
Ayatollah Sistani pointed out that in their attempts to uproot the Palestinian people there was no expectation from the Israeli occupation forces other than enormous cruelty.
The well-known Iraqi Shea clergyman emphasized that the international community, particularly the Arab and Muslim nations, is obliged not to allow this major humanitarian tragedy to continue.
He called for a fierce global effort to put an end to the catastrophe, urging world nations to pressure the occupying Tel Aviv regime and its sponsors to allow the delivery of food and other basic goods to Gaza as quickly as possible.
Ayatollah Sistani’s statement warns of a dramatic increase in malnutrition and an increase in deaths associated with starvation as hunger continues to spread throughout Gaza.
Recent data supported by the United Nations shows that nearly half a million individuals are currently facing extreme levels of hunger.
Aid agencies report that more than 100 Palestinians (mostly children) have succumbed to starvation in the past few weeks.
Delivery of humanitarian aid continues to face major restrictions as Israeli forces are blocking or targeting convoys seeking access to northern and central Gaza.
Borderless Physicians (MSFs) and various international organizations characterize the situation as artificial hunger, urging the global community to pressure “Israel” to lift the lockdown without delay.
rhm/