We, the undersigned organisations, welcome the temporary cessation of hostilities between Hamas and Israel in Gaza. While this temporary pause is a vital step, it comes far too late for the over 46,000 Palestinians who have been killed by Israeli forces in Gaza, and falls short of putting a permanent end to Palestinian suffering. The UK Government must do its part to ensure this pause turns rapidly into a permanent ceasefire.

Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP) is deeply alarmed by the significant escalation of Israeli military and settler violence against Palestinians and intensifying restrictions on freedom of movement across the occupied West Bank.  

Coinciding with the implementation of the Gaza temporary ceasefire agreement, these restrictions and violence are effectively confining entire Palestinian communities, cutting them off from essential services, including healthcare, and putting their lives at risk. 

Speech delivered by Régis Savioz of the International Committee of the Red Cross at the Cairo Ministerial Conference to Enhance the Humanitarian Response to Gaza, 2 December 2024

Mr. President, dear ministers, colleagues,

The ICRC would like to thank Egypt's President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and the United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres for organizing this conference. We hope to reach the urgent objective of enhancing the Humanitarian Response in Gaza. 

Killed in line of duty

On 4 December 2024, the Movement lost Alaa Al-Derawi, a staff member of the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) was shot and killed on a return trip after successfully transferring a patient from the field hospital to the European Gaza Hospital. Alaa recently started working closely with the Red Cross Field Hospital as a PRCS Emergency Medical Service paramedic. Alaa leaves behind his wife, one boy and one girl, in addition to his sister’s family that has depended on him since her husband’s death a few months prior.

With the escalation of violence in Israel, and the occupied Palestinian territory of Gaza and West Bank, including East Jerusalem, there has been a proliferation of dehumanizing language and of false and misleading information about the ICRC and our work in the current conflict. In the face of these real-world consequences, for both people and humanitarian actors, we want to clearly address the main harmful narratives against the ICRC and our staff.

Gaza (ICRC) – Repeated hostilities in and around hospitals have obliterated the health care system in north Gaza, putting civilians at an unacceptably grave risk of going without lifesaving care.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) reiterates its urgent call for the respect and protection of medical facilities in line with international humanitarian law. This protection is a legal obligation and a moral imperative to preserve human life.