The Independent Commission for Human Rights (ICHR) views with deep concern the escalation of Israeli belligerent aggression on the Gaza Strip for the 20th consecutive days. Israel has dispatched scores of tanks and armoured vehicles into Palestinian residential locales; intensified artillery, air and naval attacks on Palestinian territory; targeted civilians and civilian property in the heart of residential areas; and severed humanitarian supplies necessary to keep Palestinian civilians alive.

Thousands of civilians have been subject to unceasing suffering. Displaced from their houses, civilians have sought protection in schools and warehouses belonging to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA). These have been open to shelter civilians from Israeli indiscriminate air raids and firing of incendiary phosphorus bombs fired towards schools, hospitals, religious sites, universities, civilian houses, and residential localities.

Furthermore, ICHR is deeply concerned about medical staff and humanitarian personnel who are prevented from delivering humanitarian services in spite of prior coordination through the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). Forewarning the collapse of health care services in the Gaza Strip, the Israeli occupying force have targeted the Al Quds Hospital of the Palestinian Red Crescent Society as well as Tal al Hawa Hospital in the centre of Gaza city. Israeli military forces have also continued to perpetrate war crimes against civilians, medics, and humanitarian relief teams in the Gaza Strip, including Palestinian Civil Defence staff and vehicles as well as ambulances transporting injured and ill civilian persons. On several occasions, Israeli troops have detained ambulances for extended periods of time and denied access to medical staff to evacuate wounded civilians, thereby aggravating their and their families' suffering. Many injured civilians were left to bleed for several hours, ultimately resulting in their death.

In addition to the Protocols Additional thereto, the Fourth Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War of 1949 safeguard special protection for humanitarian relief staff and medics. In this context, Article (2) provides: "Persons regularly and solely engaged in the operation and administration of civilian hospitals, including the personnel engaged in the search for, removal and transporting of and caring for wounded and sick civilians, the infirm and maternity cases shall be respected and protected."

In addition, Article (23) under the said Convention safeguards the free passage of all consignments of medical and hospital stores as well as of all consignments of essential foodstuffs, clothing and tonics intended for children under fifteen, expectant mothers and maternity cases.

Thereupon, ICHR demands that:

1. Missions carried out by medical staff be facilitated. Medics must be enabled to perform their humanitarian function and not be subjected to attacks while they are carrying out their duties.
2. The High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention meet their legal obligations under Article (1) of the Convention as to undertake to place pressure on the Government of Israel to respect and to ensure respect for the Convention throughout the occupied Palestinian territory in all circumstances.
3. National institutions and international human rights organisations rejuvenate their role as to expose war crimes committed by the Israeli occupying forces against unarmed, helpless civilian persons in the Gaza Strip, place pressure on their respective governments to end the Israeli offensive, and ensure respect of human rights standards.
4. ICHR appeals to the United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to work hard as to implement an immediate ceasefire in order to put an end to the suffering of one and a half million Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and to enable international organisations to deliver humanitarian aid to affected civilians. ICHR also calls on Ban Ki-moon to stand by and support victims of human rights violations, not to put the victim and executioner on equal footing, and to outweigh humanitarian and legal considerations over political perspectives of the world order. Additionally, ICHR demands that the Secretary General of the United Nations include the Gaza Strip as a disaster area on his visit agenda to the occupied Palestinian territory. Thereby, he will view the reality of incidents on the ground, massive volume of destruction, and dimensions of the human catastrophe inflicted on the Gaza population.