Palestine: EU governments’ hypocrisy fuelling suffering in Gaza
The scale of suffering in Gaza demands more than empty rhetoric
The hypocrisy and inaction of the European Union (EU) and its member states have allowed Israel to freely continue its massacre of Palestinians in Gaza with total impunity, said Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) during a press conference in Brussels on June 16.
MSF calls for impartial needs-based aid to be facilitated into the Gaza Strip at scale, the protection of civilians and the immediate restoration of a sustained ceasefire. European governments must act decisively to expedite this.
For more than 20 months, Israeli authorities and forces have inflicted a punishing campaign, including large-scale forced displacement and ethnic cleansing against Palestinians in Gaza. On a daily basis, our teams witness patterns consistent with genocide through deliberate actions by Israeli forces – including mass killings, the destruction of vital civilian infrastructure and blockades choking off access to food, water, medicines and other essential humanitarian supplies.
Israel is systematically destroying the conditions necessary for Palestinian life. Gaza’s homes, hospitals, markets, water networks, roads and power grids have been demolished, not by disregard but by design.
“Stopping this requires political courage, legal responsibility and moral commitment. The scale of suffering in Gaza demands more than empty rhetoric.”
Christopher Lockyear, MSF secretary general
Ending Gaza’s suffering demands more than empty rhetoric
The EU and European governments have the political, economic and diplomatic means to exert real pressure on Israel to stop this assault and open Gaza’s border crossings to unhindered humanitarian aid. These are not theoretical instruments. They can be effectively mobilized in defence of international law and to protect civilians.
However, up to this point, the EU and its member states appear to have abdicated their political leadership to do so. Worse, recent statements European states have made – critical of how the war is being waged – highlight their hypocrisy as they continue to supply the weapons being used to kill, maim and burn people who end up in our hospitals.
“The war in Gaza is one of the most egregious, deadly and ruthless wars waged on a people of our time,” says Christopher Lockyear, MSF secretary general. “It is an orchestrated massacre of Palestinian people. It is purposeful ethnic cleansing.
Stopping this requires political courage, legal responsibility and moral commitment. The scale of suffering in Gaza demands more than empty rhetoric.”
The weaponization of aid for Gaza
Aid has been weaponized, used as leverage, conditioned or blocked entirely. Since the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation launched its activities on May 27 – part of the US-Israeli scheme to instrumentalize aid – hundreds of Palestinians have been treated in hospitals and scores have been killed after being shot at these aid distribution sites while waiting to receive the necessities for survival.
“Humanitarian organizations have set up makeshift hospitals to fill the gap, but they can in no way replace regular hospitals. The remaining hospitals must be protected and the entry of aid facilitated. Failure to do so will cost yet more lives.”
Christopher Lockyear, MSF secretary general
“The imposed system of aid delivery is not only a failure, but it is dehumanizing and dangerous,” says Lockyear. “It exposes thousands of Palestinians to unnecessary risks, leading to bloodshed that can be avoided if humanitarian organizations are allowed to provide aid impartially and safely, at the necessary scale that is so desperately needed in Gaza.”
Today, Nasser hospital, southern Gaza’s main referral hospital for thousands of patients in the area, is barely able to continue working due to repeated evacuation orders and movement restrictions on staff and patients. In recent weeks, MSF teams admitted over 500 patients requiring medical care to the hospital, while supporting hospital staff to respond to repeated mass casualty influxes from constant bombings and attacks.
“Humanitarian organizations have set up makeshift hospitals to fill the gap, but they can in no way replace regular hospitals,” says Lockyear. “The remaining hospitals must be protected and the entry of aid facilitated. Failure to do so will cost yet more lives.”
Needed now: Immediate and unconditional ceasefire
MSF, like many organizations, has repeatedly called for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire, unfettered humanitarian access and respect for international humanitarian law (IHL) – including the protection of medical staff and facilities.
Several governments continue to express concerns about the horrific situation in Gaza, but their statements that invoke concern with adherence to IHL are shrouded in hypocrisy as they continue to send the arms that kill and maim the children we treat.
“What people are experiencing in Gaza is beyond unbearable: it must stop now,” says Lockyear. “As this military onslaught against a besieged people rages on, the hypocrisy of EU states who speak but don’t act, is more obvious by the day.”
