KUALA LUMPUR: Doctors Without Borders (MSF) has issued a scathing statement condemning the relentless violence in the Gaza Strip, urging an immediate and sustained ceasefire.
The organisation implored governments to ensure an immediate and sustained ceasefire in Gaza, commending some governments for their leadership in calling for a cessation of hostilities.
In a statement, it said the recent truce, a glimmer of humanity after weeks of violence, was insufficient for organising the delivery of essential aid to meet the overwhelming needs.
"Israel has shown its blatant and total disregard for the protection of Gaza's medical facilities. We are watching as hospitals are being turned into morgues, and even ruins.
"They are being hit by strikes, tanks and guns, encircled and raided, killing patients and medical staff.
"The World Health Organization (WHO) has documented 178 attacks on health care, including 22 fatalities and 48 injuries of health workers on duty," expressed the organisation in frustration, emphasising that they are utterly exhausted by the current situation.
It said due to forcible evacuations by Israeli soldiers, some doctors have had to leave patients behind and face an unimaginable choice.
In a recent move, the organisation dispatched an international emergency team to Gaza to assist Palestinian colleagues in developing medical and surgical capabilities within health facilities.
"Regrettably, their activities have been severely limited due to the scale of casualties, destruction of infrastructure, lack of essential supplies such as fuel, and the ongoing insecurity.
"We want and ought to be able to do so much more but this is just impossible, due to the siege and unrelenting generalised warfare being unleashed by Israel."
Despite Israel's assertions, the organisation contends that its all-out assault is not solely directed at Hamas; rather, it is waged on all of Gaza and its people at any cost.
"Even wars have rules, but Israel is clearly trading them in for its own military doctrine based on disproportionality.
"In the early days of this unbearable offensive, the spokesman for Israel's Defense Forces (IDF) announced that the "emphasis" of this flagrantly excessive reprisal was to be on 'damage and not accuracy'.
"It is safe to say Israel's actions have spoken louder than their words," said the organisation, expressing deep concern over the apparent disregard for established rules of engagement.
Stressing the importance of a lasting ceasefire, the organisation asserted that it is the only viable solution to prevent the further loss of thousands of civilian lives and to enable the much-needed delivery of humanitarian assistance.
"We commend the Malaysian and Indonesian governments for exercising leadership together with Brunei in calling for a lasting cessation of hostilities in Gaza and the immediate provision of much needed humanitarian aid to civilians caught in conflict.
"We also call for the establishment of an independent mechanism to oversee the adequate flow of humanitarian supplies into Gaza."