The UN Special Rapporteur on the right to health, Dr. Tlaleng Mofokeng, has delivered a scathing assessment of the humanitarian catastrophe unfolding in the Gaza Strip, stating that the right to health for Palestinians has been virtually wiped out under Israel’s ongoing 21-month military onslaught.

Speaking at the 59th session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, Mofokeng highlighted the dire and deteriorating conditions in Gaza, asserting that Israel, as the occupying power, has systematically targeted the pillars of healthcare and human survival in what she described as a brutal and calculated campaign against a defenseless civilian population.

“It is no longer possible to speak of the right to health in Gaza in any meaningful way,” Mofokeng declared. She detailed how hospitals, clinics, ambulances, and medical workers have come under repeated, deliberate attack since the Israeli offensive began in October 2023, part of a broader pattern of violations against international humanitarian law.

Mofokeng further condemned Israel’s obstruction of humanitarian access, accusing the occupying forces of weaponizing aid and intentionally blocking life-saving supplies from reaching those in desperate need. “We are now in a situation where life-saving food aid, intended to prevent starvation and imminent death, is instead being used by the occupying forces to target defenseless civilians trying to feed themselves and their families,” she said.

The Special Rapporteur denounced the international community’s inaction and called for urgent accountability, stating that the tools to stop the atrocities — including international human rights law, the UN Charter, and legal accountability mechanisms — already exist but remain underutilized.

“This is not just a humanitarian crisis; it is imperialist colonial violence being directed at an unarmed population unable to defend itself,” she added, urging the world to act before the suffering in Gaza becomes irreversible.

Mofokeng’s stark testimony underscores growing global outrage over Israel’s prolonged siege of Gaza, which has left countless Palestinians dead, injured, or on the brink of starvation while health services have collapsed under relentless bombardment and blockade. (ILKHA)