Leading humanitarian organizations call on states to halt arms transfers to Israel

Edited by Ed Newman
2024-01-25 02:01:33

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U.S. Air Force personnel unload a KC-135 Stratotanker at an undisclosed location, designated by the military as within the U.S. Central Command “area of responsibility"

New York, January 25 (RHC)-- At least 16 leading international humanitarian organizations have issued a joint call for all UN member states to halt arms transfers to Israel as the Tel Aviv regime presses ahead with its genocidal campaign in the besieged Gaza Strip.

The organizations, including Oxfam, Save the Children, Amnesty International, the American Friends Service Committee made the appeal in a joint statement on Wednesday.  "We demand an immediate ceasefire and call on all states to halt the transfer of weapons that can be used to commit violations of international humanitarian and human rights law,” the statement read.

"All states have the obligation to prevent atrocity crimes and promote adherence to norms that protect civilians. The international community is long overdue to live up to these commitments," they added.

The Israeli genocide in Gaza has been escalating because of the continuous support of Western governments, as they have been persistently arming Israel and supporting the regime with large amounts of funds.

U.S. President Joe Biden administration has already approved $14 billion military aid for Israel.

The Biden administration approved the delivery of 14,000 rounds of tank ammunition for almost $106 million at the beginning of December, after he bypassed Congress.

The news magazine Der Spiegel earlier this month reported that the German government was considering an Israeli request for about 10,000 precision-guided 120 mm tank shells.  All the agencies involved has approved the request.  The German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has emphasized that more arms deliveries were also possible.

In order to promptly address the request, there is consideration being given to releasing ammunition from the stocks of the German army as the industry is unable to provide the desired precision ammunition immediately.

Palestinian officials say the Israeli regime has dropped more than 18,000 tons of explosives on Gaza.

Israel has also asked other partners for military aid because of its heavy use of ammunition against the Gazans.   The United States has said it was still not drawing any red lines for Israel, which has killed thousands of Palestinian civilians during a yet-ongoing war against the Gaza Strip.

The Palestinian Authority foreign ministry on Wednesday said that the Israeli prime minister is demonstrating a disregard for the UN and international calls for an immediate ceasefire by advocating for Israel’s aggression on the Gaza Strip for an additional six months.

In a statement, the ministry said his comments mean” the continuation of genocide and forced displacement of Palestinian civilians in the Gaza Strip.”   “Netanyahu derives his courage from the failure of the international institutions to bear their legal and moral responsibilities to end the occupation,” the statement added.

Iran and several other countries say the United States’ move to veto a UN resolution calling for an urgent humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza was in fact a vote for the continuation of the Israeli regime’s brutality against the Palestinian people.

One hundred and ten days into the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip, the regime continues with its deadly carpet-bombing campaign across the besieged Palestinian territory.  Khan Younis, the largest city in the southern Gaza Strip, has become a flashpoint for Israel’s ongoing genocidal war where dozens of lives have been lost.

The regime bombings have also targeted the vicinity of several hospitals in Khan Yunis.  The Israeli military has issued an order for over 500,000 Gazans to evacuate the area.

At least 210 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks in Gaza in a matter of 24 hours alone.

US arms manufacturers are expecting an increased demand from Israel, which has launched a war of aggression on the Palestinian people in Gaza, according to a report.   Footage circulating among Palestinians showed black smoke pouring into the sky above the training center, run by UNRWA, the UN relief organisation for the Palestinians.

An UNRWA team trying to reach the centre was blocked, the organisation's director of Gaza affairs, Thomas White, said.  In most recent Israeli attacks, tank shells hit a UN training centre sheltering tens of thousands of displaced people in Khan Younis on Wednesday, killing at least nine people and wounding 75, 

The total death toll from more than three months of Israeli onslaught is at around 25,700.



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