Emergency Information Event in Vienna Highlights the War of Destruction and Starvation in the Northern Gaza Strip
2024-11-20
VIENNA — On Wednesday, November 20, 2024, an emergency information event was held at the premises of the Palestinian Community in the Austrian capital, Vienna, to shed light on the catastrophic humanitarian situation and the ongoing war of destruction in the northern Gaza Strip. Organized under the umbrella of the "Palestine Solidarity Austria" (PSÖ) coalition, the event aimed to break the Western media blackout and expose the policies of systematic starvation and forced displacement against the remaining civilian population in the northern sector.
The conference featured live testimonies from doctors and activists at the heart of the event:
Dr. Shadi Abu Daher, Chairman of the Palestinian Doctors and Pharmacists in Austria and originally from the Jabaliya refugee camp, delivered a speech revealing that he lost more than one hundred of his civilian family members and relatives during the war of genocide due to the direct bombardment of their homes. He displayed pictures of his family and their residence, which was completely leveled to the ground. In his testimony, he focused on the brutal nature of the incursions, speaking about his nephew who was shot by occupation soldiers in the street and left to bleed to death for six full hours because the occupation armor prevented ambulances and paramedics from approaching, and fired directly at anyone who attempted to rescue him. He pointed out that hundreds of bodies remain under the rubble, and medical teams have been unable to retrieve them due to the continuous targeting of aid workers.
Dr. Mohammad Mostafa Salha, Director of the Al-Awda Hospital in the Jabaliya camp, was unable to connect directly via video due to continuous bombardment. However, he sent a fragmented voice message confirming that the remaining medical staff continue to perform surgeries under subhuman conditions despite the total cutoff of fuel, electricity, and medical supplies.
Mariam El Abbassi, an Austrian nurse from the province of Tyrol who recently returned from a humanitarian mission in northern Gaza, presented her testimony regarding the occupation's systematic violation of international humanitarian law. She spoke about the sadistic practices of the occupation soldiers at the crossings, where humanitarian aid convoys — even those belonging to the United Nations and accompanied by prior security coordination — are halted for long hours in the sun to force them to turn back without unloading their cargo. Mariam mentioned a shocking detail reflecting the insistence on starvation: the soldiers confiscated the personal "date bars and nutritional supplements" (Müsliriegel) carried by the international medical staff to prevent them from giving them to any child or Palestinian citizen they encountered on their way. She emphasized that the remaining well water in the north has become salty and chemically contaminated due to the occupation's destruction of infrastructure, and that the residents are living on the scarce remains of old canned food.
Nicole Schöndorfer, an Austrian journalist, presented precise statistics documenting the scale of destruction and fiercely criticized Western media outlets that falsify facts on the ground and work to criminalize the steadfastness of the resisting Palestinian people on their land.
In conclusion, the event's coordinator, Willi Langthaler, made a passionate appeal to the attendees on the necessity of continuing to raise their voices, sharing documented facts via social media platforms, and confronting narratives of systematic disinformation. The event received joint support from the "Palestine Solidarity Initiative," the "Palestinian Community in Austria," the "Handala" Cultural Forum, the "Anti-Imperialist Coordination," and the "Women in Black in Vienna" group.
Image source
https://www.palaestinasolidaritaet.at/2024-11-23-stimme-gegen-die-vernichtung-der-palaestinenser-nordgazas-erheben/
The conference featured live testimonies from doctors and activists at the heart of the event:
Dr. Shadi Abu Daher, Chairman of the Palestinian Doctors and Pharmacists in Austria and originally from the Jabaliya refugee camp, delivered a speech revealing that he lost more than one hundred of his civilian family members and relatives during the war of genocide due to the direct bombardment of their homes. He displayed pictures of his family and their residence, which was completely leveled to the ground. In his testimony, he focused on the brutal nature of the incursions, speaking about his nephew who was shot by occupation soldiers in the street and left to bleed to death for six full hours because the occupation armor prevented ambulances and paramedics from approaching, and fired directly at anyone who attempted to rescue him. He pointed out that hundreds of bodies remain under the rubble, and medical teams have been unable to retrieve them due to the continuous targeting of aid workers.
Dr. Mohammad Mostafa Salha, Director of the Al-Awda Hospital in the Jabaliya camp, was unable to connect directly via video due to continuous bombardment. However, he sent a fragmented voice message confirming that the remaining medical staff continue to perform surgeries under subhuman conditions despite the total cutoff of fuel, electricity, and medical supplies.
Mariam El Abbassi, an Austrian nurse from the province of Tyrol who recently returned from a humanitarian mission in northern Gaza, presented her testimony regarding the occupation's systematic violation of international humanitarian law. She spoke about the sadistic practices of the occupation soldiers at the crossings, where humanitarian aid convoys — even those belonging to the United Nations and accompanied by prior security coordination — are halted for long hours in the sun to force them to turn back without unloading their cargo. Mariam mentioned a shocking detail reflecting the insistence on starvation: the soldiers confiscated the personal "date bars and nutritional supplements" (Müsliriegel) carried by the international medical staff to prevent them from giving them to any child or Palestinian citizen they encountered on their way. She emphasized that the remaining well water in the north has become salty and chemically contaminated due to the occupation's destruction of infrastructure, and that the residents are living on the scarce remains of old canned food.
Nicole Schöndorfer, an Austrian journalist, presented precise statistics documenting the scale of destruction and fiercely criticized Western media outlets that falsify facts on the ground and work to criminalize the steadfastness of the resisting Palestinian people on their land.
In conclusion, the event's coordinator, Willi Langthaler, made a passionate appeal to the attendees on the necessity of continuing to raise their voices, sharing documented facts via social media platforms, and confronting narratives of systematic disinformation. The event received joint support from the "Palestine Solidarity Initiative," the "Palestinian Community in Austria," the "Handala" Cultural Forum, the "Anti-Imperialist Coordination," and the "Women in Black in Vienna" group.
Image source
https://www.palaestinasolidaritaet.at/2024-11-23-stimme-gegen-die-vernichtung-der-palaestinenser-nordgazas-erheben/
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