Gaza has been turned into world's largest cemetery: Palestinian foreign minister

By Qais Omar Darwesh Omar

RAMALLAH, Palestine (AA) - The Gaza Strip has been transformed “from the largest open-air prison into the largest open cemetery in the world,” Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki said Thursday.

Al-Maliki’s remarks came during his meeting with his Greek counterpart Giorgos Gerapetrisis at the Palestinian Foreign Ministry headquarters in Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, according to a statement issued by the ministry.

He said the Gaza Strip has also been transformed into “the largest place where human life and international law are violated.”

The ministry said the two sides “discussed the latest developments in the Palestinian issue, including the ongoing war on the Gaza Strip since Oct. 7, and the necessity of delivering humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip.”

Al-Maliki briefed Gerapetrisis on “the Israeli aggression against the Palestinian people, especially in the Gaza Strip,” according to the statement.

He also pointed to "the systematic and widescale killing of children, women and the elderly and the murder, destruction, starvation, displacement and extermination they are subjected to and the massive scale of destruction that targeted every place in the Gaza Strip."

Al-Maliki also discussed the difficult field conditions in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, as a result of the escalated violations by the occupation forces and settler violence.

He stressed the need for "effective and urgent intervention to establish a cease-fire and to ensure the urgent entry of basic humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip, including food, water, electricity and fuel, in addition to dealing with the conditions of the wounded and their rapid transfer to hospitals outside the Strip."

Al-Maliki said "the international community has a moral duty to stop the ongoing genocide committed by Israel."

Gerapetrisis highlighted the need to “stop targeting civilians, release captives and to urgently transfer the wounded to hospitals outside the Gaza Strip,” according to the statement.

He called for "opening humanitarian corridors for basic aid to enter the Gaza Strip, including the possibility of establishing a sea corridor to the Gaza Strip to transport humanitarian needs."

He also expressed concern about "the escalation of the situation in the West Bank."

Israel has launched relentless air and ground attacks on the Gaza Strip since a cross-border attack by the Palestinian resistance group Hamas on Oct. 7.

At least 11,500 Palestinians have been killed, including more than 7,800 women and children, and more than 29,200 injured, according to the latest figures from Palestinian authorities.

Thousands of buildings, including hospitals, mosques and churches, have also been damaged or destroyed.

The Israeli death toll, meanwhile, is around 1,200, according to official figures.