Rights group urges opening of maritime routes to Gaza aid ships
The Palestinian al-Haq rights group has called on the world’s countries to open their waters to the uninterrupted passage of humanitarian aid flotillas bound for the Gaza Strip amid a genocidal Israeli war.
It made the plea on Saturday, one day after a Gaza-bound vessel carrying humanitarian aid and activists was attacked by Israeli drones while in international waters off Malta.
The Freedom Flotilla Coalition, whose ship the Conscience caught fire in the strike, called for Israeli ambassadors to be summoned to answer for “violation of international law, including the ongoing blockade and the bombing of our civilian vessel.”
In a statement, al-Haq said the UN Commission of Inquiry and the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) should investigate the criminal attack on the Conscience.
It also expressed dismay that some countries are choosing to remain complicit in Israeli crimes in Gaza through their silence instead of forcing an end to the Israeli genocide and lethal siege on the Palestinian territory.
It further urged activists to support and join international efforts aimed at ensuring the delivery of lifesaving aid to Gaza.
Meanwhile, the rights group called for an arms embargo, as well as political and economic sanctions on Israel, saying the regime should be unseated from the United Nations General Assembly over its continuous breaches of the UN Charter.
Israel launched its genocidal war on the Gaza Strip on October 7, 2023, which has so far killed at least 52,535 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and injured more than 118,491 others.
The Tel Aviv regime accepted longstanding negotiation terms by the Hamas resistance group under a Gaza ceasefire, which began on January 19.
However, Israel unilaterally abandoned the truce on March 2, cutting off humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip. It also resumed its deadly bombing campaign and redeployed troops to the blockaded territory.
