#Gaza, Dabru emet, speak truth: This is a campaign of extermination.

The peacekeepers and relief workers of the United Nations continue to perform their invaluable work despite attacks by Israeli Defense Forces in Lebanon and Gaza. In Gaza, at least 232 UNRWA staff have been killed, over 200 of its premises have been damaged or destroyed and draft legislation in the Israeli Knesset seeks to terminate operations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.

UNIFIL, the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon, is facing increasingly challenging conditions. Medical vehicles are targeted. In a report to the UN Security Council, UNIFL states:

“Early in the morning on 23 October, two medevac teams meeting at Yarin to transfer a patient came under fire of unknown origin. One vehicle was immobilized and had to be left at the scene.

“In the evening that same day, a medical facility at a UNIFIL position in Beit Leif was hit by a shell or rocket of unknown origin, causing damage to buildings.

“Later, two shells or rockets, also of unknown origin, impacted near a UNIFIL position in Kafer Chouba, causing damage to living accommodations and shelters. Peacekeepers in both positions were in shelters at the time.

“Fortunately, no peacekeepers were hurt in any of these incidents.”

Polio Vaccinations Halted

In Gaza, over a year since the IDF invasion after the October 7th Hamas attacks in Israel, the final phase of the polio vaccination programme has had to be paused in Northern Gaza because of the constant bombardment.

Louise Wateridge, spokesperson for the UN agency for Palestine refugees, UNRWA said:

“It is imperative to stop the polio outbreak in Gaza before more children are paralysed and the virus spreads.

“The current conditions, including ongoing attacks on civilian infrastructure continue to jeopardise people’s safety and movement in northern Gaza, making it impossible for families to safely bring their children for vaccination and health workers to operate.”

And she warned:

“The nightmare in northern Gaza is intensifying. For nearly three weeks, we have repeatedly warned that the ongoing military operations are putting tens of thousands of civilians in grave danger.”

More than 400,000 people remain trapped in the north where Israel has intensified its offensive saying that Hamas militants are regrouping there.

Louise Wateridge said people in the north are experiencing extreme suffering with “harrowing levels of death, injury and destruction”.

“Civilians are trapped under rubble, the sick and wounded are going without lifesaving healthcare, families lack food, their homes have been destroyed, they have no shelter and nowhere is safe.”

Kamal Adwan Hospital Attacked

Director-General of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, posted on the social media site X on 25th October :

“Since this morning’s reports of a raid of Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza, we have lost touch with the personnel there. This development is deeply disturbing given the number of patients being served and people sheltering there. Prior to this, WHO and partners managed to reach Kamal Adwan Hospital late last night, amid hostilities in the vicinity, and transferred 23 patients and 26 caregivers to Al-Shifa Hospital.

“The team also delivered 180 units of blood, trauma and surgical supplies and medicines for over 5000 patients. Kamal Adwan Hospital has been overflowing with close to 200 patients – a constant stream of horrific trauma cases. It is also full of hundreds of people seeking shelter. Accessing hospitals across Gaza is getting unbelievably harder and exposes our staff to unnecessary danger. The mission returned at 3.30 am. We call for an immediate ceasefire; and protection of hospitals, patients, health professionals and humanitarians. Everyone in Gaza needs peace.

UK Oxfam Workers Killed

Journalists, the few left who are reporting in the region, are being targeted by Israel. Those that are not killed are captured and taken to concentration camps within Israel. Al Jazeera journalist Imran Khan reported on the Israeli air attack on Hasbaiyya in southern Lebanon that killed three journalists.

Meanwhile four British Oxfam engineers who were attempting to fix a water supply in Gaza were killed. They were in a marked vehicle and had notified and obtained permission from the IDF prior to commencing.

The four men were killed on their way to conduct repairs to water infrastructure in Khuzaa, east of Khan Younis. Despite prior coordination with Israeli authorities their clearly-marked vehicle was bombed. 

In a statement released by Oxfam UK it said:

“Oxfam stands in solidarity with the CMWU, their partners and the families of the victims.

“Their deaths deepen the catastrophic humanitarian crisis in Gaza where access to clean water is already severely compromised.

“Dozens of engineers, civil servants and humanitarian workers have been killed in Israeli airstrikes throughout this war. They were all working on essential services to keep Gaza’s fragile infrastructure running. Despite their movements being coordinated with the Israeli authorities by the CMWU and the Palestinian Water Authority, to ensure their safety, they were still targeted.

“Attacks on civilian infrastructure and those who maintain it are clear violations of international humanitarian law. Those responsible must be held to account. Such attacks are part of the crime of using starvation as a weapon of war.

“Oxfam demands an independent investigation into this and other attacks on essential workers. We reiterate our calls for a ceasefire, an immediate halt to arms transfers to Israel, and the international community to ensure Israel is held accountable for its continued assault on civilians and those working to deliver life-saving services.”

The US and UK continue to give military support and aid to Israel despite the atrocities being committed. An Al Jazeera investigation has revealed that the US and UK have provided military support to Israel by creating an air bridge that was vital to sustain the intensity of the war on Gaza.

Dabru emet, speak truth

Jewish groups have spoken out against the war crimes and genocide being committed by Israel in Gaza. The Jewish Voice for Peace commented:

“Many of us have parents, grandparents and great-grandparents who survived or perished in Nazi death marches and we have all grown up in the shadow of the Nazi holocaust. The state of Israel is currently perpetrating a holocaust, the deliberate mass slaughter of Palestinian people, with weapons provided by the US.”

“The experiences of our ancestors under fascism now serve as the foundation for how we define modern genocides. The genocide in Palestine is yet another outgrowth of the same fascist mechanisms that murdered over 6 million Jews during the Nazi holocaust.

“We invite Nazi holocaust survivors, refugees, and their descendants: add your name to our call to stand up and stop genocide.“

In Orkney, islanders will again gather on the Kirk Green, Broad Street, Kirkwall, on Saturday 26th October, between 1 and 2pm in a peace vigil for the people of Gaza. They invite anyone who wishes to join them to please do so.

Nadia Heath has sent The Orkney News some images from last week’s vigil.