The Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, Primate of the Church of All England, has issued a statement calling for real solutions to the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip. His plea comes as the United Nations is caught in a political statement. Russia and China vetoed a US-backed resolution, as the US did last month with a resolution presented by Algeria.
“Parachuting aid or building temporary harbours is unlikely to meet the urgent and monumental humanitarian needs of Gaza’s starving population. They are imprecise, inadequate and do not reach those in most need,” writes Archbishop Justin Welby in a post on X (formerly twitter).
“Reports from the Anglican run Al Ahli Hospital in Northern Gaza tell of how US air drops have damaged the hospital’s solar panels and their power capacity. Hundreds of desperate people then entered the hospital taking the aid so that the hospital received nothing.”
In his statement, the primate of the Church of England describes the fate of the Al Ahli hospital, the facility in northern Gaza founded and supported by the Anglican Church for more than 140 years, which had already been heavily impacted in the first weeks of the war.
“If nothing changes in the war in Gaza then famine is imminent,” he writes. “For some it’s already too late – children are beginning to die of starvation and dehydration. These deaths, and the famine-like conditions in Gaza, are not the result of some unexpected natural disaster; they are human-made.”
“Israel’s prosecution of this war has destroyed large parts of the Gaza Strip – decimating infrastructure essential to human survival. The scarcity of humanitarian access to and within the Strip continues to prevent aid workers from distributing life-saving supplies. We should not become numb to this injustice.”
What is more, “International humanitarian law is resolutely clear that all parties to a conflict must allow and facilitate the rapid and unimpeded passage of humanitarian relief for civilians in need.”
“As I have said before, and I repeat again now: the only effective solution to this catastrophic situation is an immediate ceasefire, the release of all hostages, and sustained humanitarian access for the provision of essential supplies and services to those in need,” writes the Primate of England.
“Another way must be found. I continue to pray for the Palestinian Christian community in Gaza and the West Bank, for the people of Palestine and Israel, and for justice, peace and security for all the peoples of the Holy Land.”
