Former New Zealand PM Urges Action to Halt Ongoing Genocide in Gaza
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Former New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern called for urgent international measures to stop the daily genocide in Gaza, stressing the need to cut cooperation with military actions and deliver immediate humanitarian relief.
She said there is a “path to stopping the genocide still happening daily before us” in the Gaza Strip.
In an opinion piece published Friday in The Guardian, Ardern wrote that the way forward includes wider recognition of Palestine by more countries.
“Any cooperation that facilitates military action must end; humanitarian aid needs to urgently reach the trapped and starving; and medical care must be available for the injured, the malnourished, and for the expectant and new mothers,” she said.
She urged world leaders gathering in New York for the upcoming 80th UN General Assembly to respond to humanitarian crises worldwide.
“We should start with Gaza,” Ardern emphasized.
Ardern warned against the “dehumanization of numbers,” stressing that while global crises continue, Gaza must remain the immediate priority.
At least 17 Palestinians were killed in Israeli airstrikes on Gaza early Saturday, according to medical sources.
Two children were killed when Israeli warplanes bombed the Al-Mu’tasim School, where displaced families had sought shelter near Yarmouk Stadium in Gaza City, the sources said.
Another woman was killed when Israeli forces struck a civilian gathering near the Jordanian Hospital in Gaza City’s Sabra neighborhood. A man was also killed and several others wounded when Israeli troops opened fire on people waiting for aid in central Gaza, Al-Awda Hospital reported.
Four members of the Jumla family died when their home in Gaza City’s Al-Tuffah neighborhood was hit at dawn.
Elsewhere, one Palestinian was killed and others wounded when Israeli forces targeted a civilian gathering in the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza.
The Palestinian Red Crescent reported 14 civilians injured after Israeli shelling near Al-Quds Hospital in Gaza City’s Tel al-Hawa neighborhood.
Local health authorities confirmed that Israeli attacks since dawn Saturday killed 17 people, including 14 in Gaza City.
The Israeli army also announced the closure of Salah al-Din Street, the main north-south route in Gaza, leaving only the coastal Rashid Street open as bombardments continued in Gaza City and northern areas.
Since Oct. 7, 2023, Israel has carried out a campaign in Gaza that has killed more than 65,000 Palestinians, the majority women and children.
The assault has displaced hundreds of thousands and created famine that has claimed the lives of at least 435 people, including 147 children.
