IFRC Secretary General Jagan Chapagain responds further to killing of eight Palestine Red Crescent medics in Guardian op-ed article.

The following op-ed article by IFRC Secretary General Jagan Chapagain was first published by the UK Guardian on 5 April, 2025. 

*🇵🇸Palestinian Ministry of Health - Gaza 🇵🇸*

*Press Statement*

*🛑 The Israeli occupation's prevention of the entry of polio vaccines into the Gaza Strip poses a time bomb that threatens to spread the epidemic*

*👈🏻Preventing the entry of vaccines is an indirect targeting of children in the Gaza Strip*

The American doctor @FerozeSidhwa gives important testimony about the Israeli occupation’s bombing of Nasser Hospital and calls on the United States and European countries to stop sending weapons so this insanity stops
 

The Red Cross Field Hospital was established and opened on 9 May 2024, and is implemented in coordination with the Palestine Red Crescent Society and supported by Red Cross Societies of Australia, Austria, Canada, China (Hong Kong branch), Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Japan, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.

It is located in Rafah area of the Gaza Strip, and it's sole purpose is to provide medical services to civilians affected by the current armed conflict.

Gaza (ICRC) – The International Committee of the Red Cross is appalled that eight medics from the Palestine Red Crescent Society were killed while carrying out their work, along with first responders from the Civil Defence in Gaza and a staff member of the United Nations. Their bodies were identified today and have been recovered for dignified burial. These staff and volunteers were risking their own lives to provide support to others. We are deeply saddened and mourn alongside their families, loved ones, and colleagues.

Gaza (ICRC): Today, an office of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Rafah was damaged by an explosive projectile despite being clearly marked and notified to all parties. Fortunately, no staff were injured in this incident, but this has a direct impact on the ICRC’s ability to operate. The ICRC strongly decries the attack against its premises.  

From the resumption of hostilities in Gaza and Israel to escalating violence in Yemen, millions of civilians in the Middle East find themselves once again trapped in a never-ending cycle of violence.

Today, our teams see the impact on civilians firsthand. In Gaza, people need aid and medical care, and hostages must come home. In Yemen, communities fear for their safety again. In Syria, recent waves of violence displaced people from their homes once again and created new waves of humanitarian needs.

This Opinion by Julien Lerisson was originally published on Haaretz

Gaza (ICRC) – The ceasefire in Gaza has proven vital to saving lives, bringing in humanitarian assistance and sustaining the civilian population. However, Gaza's humanitarian crisis is far from over. Aid deliveries had substantially increased over the course of the ceasefire, but they remain a drop in the ocean compared to the immense needs on the ground.