Even before the Israeli Defense Forces began their invasion of Al-Shifa Hospital, Gaza’s largest hospital complex, early this morning, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres yesterday renewed his call for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire, “in the name of humanity,” given the destruction of hospitals and the increasing loss of innocent lives. Speaking from Geneva, Dr. Margaret Harris, spokeswoman for the World Health Organization, reported “we are begging for a ceasefire to happen now.” She warned that the rains falling around Al-Shifa would further people’s suffering at a time when disruptions in sewerage and clean water shortages have caused an increase in water-borne diseases and bacterial infections.
A distraught UN Under Secretary for Humanitarian Affairs Martin Griffiths said in a statement, “as the carnage in Gaza reaches new levels of horror every day, the world continues to watch in shock as hospitals come under fire, premature babies die, and an entire population is deprived of the basic means of survival. This cannot be allowed to continue.” His statement spelled out ten steps to “rein it in.”
