SEREMBAN: The ongoing blockade imposed by Israel in Gaza has severely restricted the delivery of humanitarian assistance, leading to critical shortages of food, clean water, medical supplies and fuel, says Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan (pic).
The Foreign Minister said these developments have raised urgent fears of an imminent famine, with starvation and malnutrition already severely affecting thousands of civilians, particularly children.
“Malaysia expresses grave, continuing concern over the ongoing humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza as a result of the relentless genocide and ethnic cleansing perpetrated by Israel’s Zionist regime.
“Since October 2023, more than 60,000 Palestinians have been killed and nearly 150,000 injured, with 1.9 million Palestinians forcibly displaced amid the unrelenting aggression of Israel’s Zionist regime,” he said in a statement.
Mohamad said Malaysia was also deeply alarmed by the unfolding humanitarian crisis that the world has witnessed silently for the past 22 months.
He also condemned the brutal killings of more than 1,300 Palestinians waiting in line to receive aid from the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation since May of this year, adding that this must be investigated and the perpetrators brought to justice.
Malaysia, he said, wished to reiterate in the strongest terms that the Israeli government must stop the killings, cease all attempts at forced displacement of Palestinians, and immediately end all blockades of humanitarian access to ensure unimpeded access to aid.
Failure by Israel is a violation of international law, international humanitarian law, and international human rights law.
“We note the outcome of the recent high-level International Conference for the Peaceful Settlement of the Questions of Palestine and Implementation of the two-state solution held in New York, which saw widespread international support for the realisation of a two-state solution with a call for urgent and sustained humanitarian assistance as well as a raft of other initiatives.
“We welcome the international community’s shift to condemn Israel and move towards pragmatic, action-oriented measures to resolve the question of securing Palestinian statehood,” he said.
Malaysia, he said, reaffirms its unwavering solidarity with the Palestinian people and their inalienable right to self-determination.
It also remains steadfast in supporting the establishment of an independent and sovereign state of Palestine, based on pre-1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital and Palestine’s rightful membership in the United Nations.
