Gaza: the urgency of responding
How many more deaths will it take?
Let us not remain spectators of the horror.
Our silence kills as surely as the bombs.
For Gaza, for life, for humanity.
Let us awaken our collective conscience! Let us mobilise.
Opinion piece published in L’Humanité (in French)
Gaza is today the scene of an unprecedented tragedy. For 20 months, more than 2 million people have been living under continuous fire, in a bled-dry territory deprived of water, food, care and shelter. They are being subjected to a methodical campaign of dehumanisation, punctuated by bombardment, forced displacement and now an organised famine. On 2 March, a turning point was reached. A total humanitarian blockade was imposed, preventing the delivery of aid, even the most vital. Since then, the people of Gaza have been surviving without. Without bread. Without medicines. Without protection. Without a way out.
Every day, children die of hunger. Every day, entire families disappear under the rubble. Every day, the world’s silence echoes their abandonment. This is not a conflict. It is the collapse of a people before our eyes. We will not be able to say we did not know. There is still time to act. To support those on the ground who are saving what can be saved. To raise the alarm. To give. To carry this silenced voice, despite images so omnipresent they blind us. What is happening in Gaza is not a distant crisis. It is a major humanitarian catastrophe, unfolding now, before our eyes.
WE MUST ACT NOW!
We demand immediate measures from the French government to save the population of Gaza, which is threatened with extinction.
OUR DEMANDS:
To express our deep disapproval of France’s inaction regarding the humanitarian situation in Gaza, which amounts to systematic ethnic cleansing.
To call for non-violent civil disobedience, to compel France to:
➢ Urgently convene the UN Security Council
➢ Set a 72-hour ultimatum for:
- A humanitarian ceasefire
- The entry of humanitarian aid
- The resumption of negotiations
- The release of the hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners
➢ Declare that any veto of this resolution must be considered complicity
➢ Impose sanctions on Israel if this call is not heeded
FOR HUMAN DIGNITY
It is imperative to enforce humanitarian law. It is imperative to save our humanity. “Closing our eyes means letting people die. How many more children will have to be buried before the world reacts? What is happening there is not a distant tragedy. It is a direct attack on our humanity. And in the face of the unacceptable, keeping silent means taking part. We can no longer be content with being informed. It is time to raise our voices, open our hearts and take action. History will judge us on what we did. Or allowed to be done.” Professor Raphaël PITTI, humanitarian doctor, president of HuSoMe
