UK lawmakers recall ‘savagery’ after visiting Gaza border

By Mehmet Solmaz

BIRMINGHAM, England (AA) - A group of British parliamentarians from the International Development Committee (IDC) have visited the Egyptian city Al-Arish in the Sinai desert to observe humanitarian efforts.

Upon the return of the group back to the UK, the committee chair, Sarah Champion, said: “Nothing that has been reported braces you for the true scale of the horror in Gaza. We’re simply not getting accurate information about the levels of destruction and brutality.

“Listening to seasoned humanitarians tell us that what they’ve witnessed in Gaza makes it the worst disaster they’ve ever seen really brought home the savagery befalling civilians. Aid workers repeatedly questioned why international law wasn’t being followed or upheld in relation to civilians, humanitarians and medics.”

Coordinated by the Egyptian Red Crescent, the border area operates as the logistics hub for all aid - including from the UK - destined for the tightly controlled crossing into Gaza.

The IDC statement said the committee visited a hospital treating wounded Gaza residents and heard concerns from multiple sources that Israel intends to press ahead with a full-scale offensive in Rafah, the area they had previously designated as the last safe zone in Gaza.

“They (humanitarians) also expressed a deep feeling of dread and inevitability of Israeli forces carrying out their threat to escalate the assault into Rafah. A senior aid worker described Rafah as water in the bottom of a glass with the pressure getting more and more intense.

“Politicians around the world need to demand an immediate end to the violence, full access for aid and a long term strategy to rebuild Gaza; both its infrastructure and its society.”

Since Oct. 7, the IDC has held two evidence hearings in parliament with aid agencies working on the ground in Gaza, hearing “shocking and horrifying evidence of the desperate and deteriorating humanitarian and healthcare situation there”.

The WHO estimates that less than one-third of hospitals remain partially functioning and are often now staffed by volunteers.