Civil Society Organisations under the aegis of Coalition of Civil Society Organisations (CCSO) have called on the International Criminal Court, to intervene by investigating the death of over 500 Palestinians in a single Israeli strike at the Al-Ahli Arab hospital south of Gaza on Tuesday, 17th October, 2023.
The CSOs described the attack as a crime against humanity calling on ICC to investigate and give appropriate sanction. The CSOs comprise of Work Bond International Network (WIN), International Institute for Human Heritage (IIHH), Center for Policy Intervention In Africa (CEPIA), United Action for Democracy, Renaissance Group, Human Rights Monitoring Agenda (HURMA), Centre for Human and Socio-Economic Rights and Frontline Socio-Economic Research Centre (FSERC).
Addressing journalists during a joint press briefing in Lagos on Thursday, the CSOs noted that: “The massacre at the Al-Ahli Arab hospital targeted not just civilians taking shelter in the hospital but also medical staff who were treating patients, the sick and the injured who had gathered there in the hope of recovery or rescue; The situation in Gaza runs contrary to the spirit that of Geneva Convention which prohibits ‘reprisal attacks against the wounded, the sick and the shipwrecked, medical personnel and services, prisoners of war among others.
“The United Nations (UN) must prevail on Israel to halt its war crimes by calling for a ceasefire. It should as a matter of urgency reclaim the peace process and take it away from the monopoly of the United States and European Union. Other nations of the world from the Arab World to Turkey and China must invest in the peace process to end US monopoly.
“We demand affirmation of Nigeria’s commitment to the two-state solution not just by rhetoric but by practical steps which put existing relations with Israel on hold until Palestinians attained their independence. “We call on the world to rise in defense of justice and on the side of the oppressed. Palestinians are humans and they cannot continue to be treated as non-humans.”
