Source: Radio New Zealand
Medecins Sans Frontieres is determined to stay in Gaza despite requirements from Israel to supply extensive details of staff and funding. Medecins Sans Frontieres
Aid organisations in Gaza, say they have been unable to get supplies or staff into the city since January.
A court temporarily blocked a decision by Israel to ban 37 aid organisations for failing to cooperate with new rules.
Those rules included registering names and contact details of staff with Israeli authorities as well as providing details of the group’s funding.
Médecins Sans Frontières, also known as, Doctors Without Borders’ (MSF) executive director for New Zealand and Australia, Tom Roth, told Nine to Noon, the organisation had been discussing with authorities why they needed that information and what it would be used for.
He said there were fears about staff being targeted using the information and so far there had been no assurances on how that information would be used.
Despite the court temporarily blocking the decision, supplies and staff had not been able to enter Gaza since January, Roth said.
He described the situation as “catastrophic”.
“Eighty percent of the infrastructure [in Gaza] has been destroyed, it’s a massive catastrophe… Palestinians are struggling just with basic shelter. They are living within 40 percent of Gaza’s land mass, living in tents trying to survive without access to food, water and medical assistance.”
Displaced Palestinians warm up by the fire. (File photo) NurPhoto via AFP
Roth said there had been limited food in Gaza since before the ceasefire, and even with it there had still been limited amounts of food coming in.
“There’s an obligation under international humanitarian law that Israel is required to allow unhindered humanitarian access for NGO’s.”
Roth said after the new rules came in last year, a petition was taken to the Supreme Court to overthrow the registration ban.
He said an injunction to stop it being implemented was now in place, but by the time it was put in place, MSF has already removed staff from Gaza.
“We’ve requested staff and supplies to come into Gaza since then and that has been refused.
“We’re still waiting for the Israeli government’s response to it.”
MSF had no international staff in Gaza and the West Bank at present, Roth said, but Palestinian staff remained, which made up about 80 percent of the staff.
“So we have and will continue to operate in Gaza for as long as possible.”
However, Roth said staff needed the means to do their job, including the supply of medical equipment which at the moment was unable to replenished, he said.
“People are living in tents desperately searching for food, for water, there’s thousands of people needing urgent medical attention.
“It would take five years to evacuate the children needing urgent medical evacuation. It’s heartbreaking we’re put in this situation.”
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
