Palestinian children wait in queues as the US-based international volunteer aid organization, World Central Kitchen (WCK) distribute meals cooked on wood fire due to fuel crisis, as the Israeli army continues to block the entrance of humanitarian aid, food and other products into Gaza on March 16, 2025 in Khan Yunis, Gaza [Abed Rahim Khatib - Anadolu Agency]
Palestinian children wait in queues as the US-based international volunteer aid organization, World Central Kitchen (WCK) distribute meals cooked on wood fire due to fuel crisis, as the Israeli army continues to block the entrance of humanitarian aid, food and other products into Gaza on March 16, 2025 in Khan Yunis, Gaza [Abed Rahim Khatib – Anadolu Agency]
Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed Bin Abdulrahman Al Thani today called on the international community to firmly confront Israel’s starvation policy against Palestinians in Gaza.
His call came during a meeting in Doha with Sigrid Kaag, the UN under-secretary-general and senior humanitarian and reconstruction coordinator for Gaza, who is currently visiting Qatar.
During the meeting, the two sides discussed relations between Qatar and the UN and ways to bolster them, the Qatari Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
Both sides also reviewed “the latest developments in the Gaza Strip, particularly the challenges facing humanitarian action, and ways to cooperate to deliver humanitarian aid sustainably and without hindrance to all areas of the Strip,” the statement said.
Sheikh Mohammed urged the international community “to shoulder its responsibilities to address the catastrophic humanitarian situation in Gaza and to firmly confront the starvation policy pursued by the Israeli occupation in its brutal war against the brotherly Palestinian people.”
Earlier this month, Israel closed all crossings into Gaza, banning the entry of food, medicine and fuel aid to pressure Hamas to accept Tel Aviv new terms for a truce. Israel has since cut all electricity supplies to the enclave, effectively closing the only desalination plant in Gaza, leaving Palestinians with no source of clean water.
UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories, Francesca Albanese, condemned Israel’s decision describing it as a warning of genocide.
“GENOCIDE ALERT! Israel cutting off electricity supplies to Gaza means, among others, no functioning desalination stations, ergo: no clean water,” Albanese wrote on X.
The International Committee of the Red Cross also warned that the suspension of aid to Gaza, including the cessation of electricity to the only desalination plant, threatens to push the Strip into a severe humanitarian emergency.
WATCH: Columbia warns journalism students to stay silent on Gaza or risk arrest
8 Comments
Unless otherwise stated in the article above, this work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. If the image(s) bear our credit, this license also applies to them. What does that mean? For other permissions, please contact us.