Over 62,966 Palestinians killed in Israel’s military campaign – Palestinian Ambassador to Ghana
ISRAEL’S military campaign in Gaza and the West Bank has killed more than 62,966 Palestinians, including 25,000 children and 12,000 women, the Palestinian Ambassador to Ghana, Abdalfatah Ahmed Khalil Alsatarri has said.
He added that, according to United Nations reports, 88 per cent of those killed are civilians, stressing that “there is no safe place in Gaza” as hospitals, schools, and homes continue to be bombed.
The Ambassador made the remarks yesterday in Accra at a press conference aimed at drawing international attention to the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and rallying African and global support for Palestinian statehood.
He accused Israel of using starvation as a weapon of war, citing UN and UNICEF figures that show children are dying daily due to lack of food and medicine. “For five months, Israel did not allow food and medicine to enter. Since then, 320 people, including 121 children, have died of hunger,” he said.
The envoy also mourned the deaths of journalists, highlighting the killing of a reporter from Khan Younis, Mariam Abu Daqqa among 247 journalists killed in the conflict. “When they kill the journalist, they want to kill the truth,” he said.
He expressed gratitude to President John Dramani Mahama and the people of Ghana for their solidarity, announcing that Ghana will send two containers of chocolate to children in Gaza on as part of humanitarian support.
The ambassador cautioned that peace in the Middle East will only be achieved through the establishment of an independent Palestinian state on lands occupied since 1967, with East Jerusalem as its capital.
Secretary General of the Pan African Writers’ Association (PAWA), Dr Wale Okediran in his remarks has pledged continued African support for the Palestinian cause.
He described the crisis as “a colonial apartheid occupation” and called for international mobilisation to end it.
A representative of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign in Ghana, Kwesi Prat Junior, also reaffirmed its commitment to support the Palestinian struggle, describing the situation as a “colonial apartheid occupation” that has subjected the people of Palestine to 76 years of oppression.
He condemned the killing of journalists and writers in the conflict, stressing that such acts are aimed at silencing the truth, while even international media face restrictions in covering the crisis.
He added that it was the duty of citizens worldwide to build a just society where all people are treated equally, regardless of race, language or nationality.
BY STEPHANIE BIRIKORANG
