Ceasefire: A Sign of Hope Amid the Ruins
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While the temporary ceasefire in Gaza has finally been adopted, in recent months, the residents of the Gaza Strip have suffered from the relentless bombardment by Israeli forces.
Op-Ed written by Thomas Kauffmann, General Director of Médecins Sans Frontières Luxembourg.
While the temporary ceasefire in Gaza has finally been adopted, in recent months, the residents of the Gaza Strip have suffered from the relentless bombardment by Israeli forces.
We welcome the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip with relief, after 15 months of devastating conflict. This conflict has claimed the lives of over 46,000 people (about one in every 50 people in the pre-war population), most of them women and children, and displaced 1.9 million people. Despite this progress, we know that humanitarian needs remain absolutely enormous.
We want to remind everyone that the people of Gaza are facing a catastrophic situation. Essential infrastructure, such as hospitals and schools, has been destroyed or overwhelmed. Families are sleeping among the rubble, in makeshift camps, or in the open, exposed to the freezing cold of winter. We have seen children wandering barefoot in streets covered with debris, and infants dying from the cold because they lacked blankets or proper medical care.
We demand that the delivery of humanitarian aid be ramped up and secured. Too often, convoys are looted, sometimes in front of armed forces, with no intervention. These vital resources—such as food, drinking water, medicine, or fuel—must urgently reach those who need them most. We have witnessed situations where tons of aid are blocked or diverted while patients die for lack of care.
We also call for the immediate lifting of the blockade on Gaza, as it prevents continuous and sufficient access to humanitarian aid, which is essential to meet urgent needs and begin the reconstruction process. This blockade further isolates a population already shattered by war and deprivation.
We want to believe that this ceasefire represents a first step toward sustainable improvement. However, it is clear that concrete and massive commitments are needed to repair the deep physical and psychological wounds inflicted on this population.
We remain mobilized 24/7 to support the people of Gaza and also to raise awareness about collective responsibilities in the face of this tragedy.
Finally, we stress the importance of true respect for international humanitarian law. This law, designed to limit the suffering of civilian populations during wartime, has today been utterly disregarded under the rubble of Gaza. Massive and indiscriminate bombings, especially targeting health structures, the use of cold as a weapon of war, and the lack of protection for civilians are glaring examples of this violation.