‘Bombing of QCRG Headquarters will not deter Qatar from helping Palestine’
Qatar, one of the staunchest supporters of the Palestinian people, reiterated that the Israeli occupation forces’ recent bombing of the headquarters of the Qatar Committee for the Reconstruction of Gaza (QCRG) would not deter it from providing assistance to Gaza.
The bombing was a crime which constituted a blatant violation of international laws and an extension of the targeting of humanitarian work represented by the committee’s headquarters, said HE Sheikha Alya Ahmed bin Saif Al Thani, Qatar’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations.
She was speaking during an informal plenary meeting to assess the humanitarian situation in Gaza, organised at the request of Qatar, the Arab League and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation in New York.
Sheikha Alya said Qatar had sent ten planes carrying more than 358 tonnes of aid including a field hospital, shelter supplies, medical supplies, and food, to the Egyptian city of Arish since the beginning of the crisis.
She reiterated Qatar’s condemnation of all forms of targeting of civilians. She considered the Israeli targeting of civilian facilities, including the invasion of Al Shifa Medical Complex in Gaza, as a war crime and blatant violation of international laws and conventions.
She warned of the dangers of collective punishment, including attempts at the forced displacement of the Palestinian people.
She expressed Qatar’s deep concern about the ongoing Israeli ground incursion, which has had devastating effects on the safety of civilians and hostages and catastrophic repercussions on the security and stability of the region, as well as on mediation and de-escalation efforts.
Sheikha Alya said civilians in the Gaza Strip were facing a humanitarian catastrophe due to brutal Israeli airstrikes, where basic necessities of life have been cut off, with more than two-thirds of them displaced and the number of casualties, injuries, and missing persons under the rubble estimated to be around 40,000.
She pointed out that violence disproportionately affects children and women, constituting 70% of the victims. Therefore, the Strip has been described as a ‘graveyard for children,’ and a joint statement issued by the Special Rapporteurs on Human Rights in Geneva described the situation as ‘threatening genocide.’
She explained that many journalists and UN employees, including more than a hundred UNRWA workers, lost their lives in the attacks. She expressed Qatar’s deep appreciation for these significant sacrifices, as well as for all their fellow UN employees who continue to provide invaluable services under extremely harsh conditions.
She reaffirmed Qatar’s demand to fully implement Security Council Resolution No. 2,712 and the Tenth Emergency Special Session of the General Assembly Resolution 21, including implementing an urgent and sustainable ceasefire, protecting civilians and civilian facilities, and facilitating immediate, full, safe, and unhindered humanitarian access.
At the conclusion of her statement, Sheikha Alya said Qatar would continue its intensive diplomatic efforts with friendly countries and the UN.
She added that these efforts, initiated since the beginning of the crisis, aim to achieve further constructive progress in de-escalation, leading to a complete ceasefire, addressing the humanitarian crisis, and the release of all hostages, especially civilians.
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