UN rapporteur: The right to health in the Gaza Strip has become impossible

The UN Special Rapporteur on the right to health, Tlaleng Mofwang, said that it has become impossible to talk about a "right to health" in the Gaza Strip under the bloody attacks launched by the Israeli occupation over the past 21 months, indicating that the humanitarian situation is deteriorating daily.

In a press statement during her participation in the 59th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council held in Geneva, Switzerland, she addressed the catastrophic repercussions of the genocide being committed by Israel, the occupying power, and the blockade it has imposed on the Gaza Strip.

She considered that "it is impossible to talk about the right to health in Gaza in any way" due to the widespread Israeli violations to which Palestinians are subjected.

She explained that "since the first day of the attacks (Israeli on October 7, 2023), health facilities and health care elements, as well as essential elements of health, have been subjected to repeated and deliberate attacks."

She added, "The situation is getting worse daily. We now have food aid that is supposed to save people's lives from hunger and imminent death, but it is now being used by the occupation as a means to target defenseless civilians trying to obtain food for themselves and their families."

Movwang criticized Israel's continued obstruction of humanitarian aid to Gaza, saying, "We are witnessing a situation where humanitarian aid is being prevented from reaching Gaza, and UN organizations are being denied free and unrestricted access to the occupied Palestinian territories to help the people."

"As a result, the cycle of violence continues unabated," she added.

Describing the current situation in Gaza, she considered what was happening to be "imperialist colonial violence directed against a defenseless people unable to defend themselves."

The UN rapporteur stressed that the United Nations and the international community possess the legal tools necessary to prevent what is happening in Gaza.

She explained: "We have international human rights laws and standards, the United Nations Charter, and many other legal mechanisms."