Hero is an overused word today, but the Aid workers who go into war and conflict zones to deliver humanitarian aid to civilians, they are true heroes.
On 12th September three International Red Cross workers were killed when Aid vehicles were attacked in the Donetsk region of Ukraine by Russian shelling. Two others were injured.
On the 11 of September in Gaza a school run by the United Nations relief agency UNRWA sheltering displaced people was hit in Nuseirat. Among the people killed were six UNRWA staff working and providing support to families who have sought refuge in the school.
Since the 7th of October 2023 at least 220 UNRWA staff have been killed in Gaza. In 2023 50 Aid workers were killed or injured in Ukraine.
The Commissioner General stated that humanitarian staff, premises and operations have been blatantly and unabatedly disregarded since the beginning of the war in Gaza. The longer impunity prevails, the more international humanitarian law & the Geneva Conventions will become irrelevant.
The Israeli and Russian military personnel targeting civilians and Aid workers are the farthest you can get from being heroes. These are appalling acts.
At least 12 other people were killed in the school in Nuseirat where they had sought shelter and safety from the slaughter and indiscriminate killing by the Israeli forces. Eighteen people were injured.
Condemning the attack on the school ,Stéphane Dujarric, Spokesman for the Secretary-General António Guterres said:
“The Secretary-General condemns the death of at least 18 people, including children, women, and six UNRWA staff, in Israeli airstrikes that hit a school serving as a shelter in Nuseirat on 11 September. This incident raises the number of UNRWA staff killed in this conflict to 220. The IDF stated that they had targeted a command-and-control centre in the compound. This incident must be independently and thoroughly investigated to ensure accountability.
“The continued lack of effective protection for civilians in Gaza is unconscionable. Civilians and the infrastructure they rely on must be protected and the essential needs of civilians met. The Secretary-General calls upon all parties to refrain from using schools, shelters, or the areas around them for military purposes. All parties to the conflict have the obligation to comply with international humanitarian law at all times.
“The Secretary-General reiterates his call for an immediate ceasefire and the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages. This horrific violence must stop.”
In Orkney, islanders calling for an immediate ceasefire will again meet on the Kirk Green, outside St Magnus Cathedral, Kirkwall, on Saturday 14th September between 1 and 2 pm. They invite all who share this hope to join with them in their campaign for peace. Eleven months on, the islanders have been assembling outside St Magnus Cathedral every Saturday, in all weathers. Their campaign is unprecedented in the history of Orkney and illustrates their commitment to the people of Gaza, and those in the West Bank enduring an escalation in Israeli settler violence.
The Polio vaccination campaign is continuing despite hindrances being put in the way by the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF). Polio had not occurred in Gaza for over 25 years but the appalling insanitary conditions people are being forced to live in has resulted in a significant rise in many health issues – including polio. The aim is to inoculate 640,000 children in Gaza with two doses of vaccine type 2. So far 560,000 have been vaccinated. Anyone viewing the images of the vaccination campaign will be struck by how gaunt the children’s faces are. Starvation is being used to destroy lives in Gaza.
For those not killed outright, serious injuries including limb amputations, means that WHO estimates that 25% of all those injured (or 22 500 people) are likely to have acute and ongoing rehabilitation needs, including patients with extreme injuries, amputations, head and spinal cord injuries and burns. The psychological trauma is beyond any estimation.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), only 17 of Gaza’s 36 hospitals remain partially functional, primary healthcare and community-level services are frequently suspended, due to insecurity, attacks and repeated evacuation orders.
Gaza’s only limb reconstruction and rehabilitation centre, located in the Nasser Medical Complex and supported by WHO, has been non-functional since December 2023 due to lack of supplies and staff, and was further damaged in a February 2024 raid.
Several months ago, The Orkney News highlighted the number of medical workers killed in Gaza, many of those were deliberately targeted whilst doing their jobs.
And in the West Bank
In the West Bank, Israeli settler violence continues. Between 9 October 2023 and 2 September 2024, 674 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. Separately, UNICEF confirmed that over 150 children have been killed in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, during the period, 7 October 2023 to 22 July 2024.
Fiona Grahame