00:00By the news, Steve Whitcoff, the U.S. envoy to the Middle East, says he expects a breakthrough
00:04related to Gaza in the coming days, saying President Donald Trump had presented a plan
00:10to regional nations. His remarks come as Israeli tanks push yet further into Gaza City and dozens
00:18more people are killed across the Palestinian territory, including women and children who
00:23died in a series of airstrikes on a warehouse sheltering the displaced.
00:27Well, to discuss the ongoing humanitarian crisis, we are joined now by Renjia van Herringen,
00:34Executive Director of Care International. Thanks so much for being with us on the programme.
00:40As we say, Israel relentless, really, in pushing on with its offensive on Gaza City, despite
00:47mounting international criticism. What can you tell us, please, about the conditions on the ground
00:52for those who've been forced to flee Gaza City and those also who say they simply have nowhere
00:57else to go and they're staying there?
01:01Yeah, that's exactly what's happening. Thank you for having me.
01:04That people have already, and we've seen that, have gone from one place to another over the past
01:09almost two years now and are now forced to leave Gaza City again, which is not really an evacuation
01:16because there isn't really a safe place to go for those people. So they're trying to, some of them are
01:22still, again, trying to prepare and bring together whatever they have left, find means of transportation,
01:28which are extremely pricey. And that is why some people say, I am just going to stay. I can't do it
01:37anymore. People who physically and emotionally are not able to make this move again.
01:42Yeah, because we've been repeatedly told for nearly two years now by people who are trying to
01:48evacuate from various parts of Gaza several, multiple times at this point, they're saying there
01:55is really nowhere for us to go. So where actually are they going? And what kind of conditions are they
02:01dealing with once they get there?
02:04They are going through very few roads that are still left open to them. They go to places where, again,
02:12there is no shelter, there's no water, there are no conditions really for them to live. And it begins to feel
02:20more and more deliberate that they are chased from where they are and where they have found kind of stability
02:28in the place where they were and again are moved. And where they arrive, there's nothing there because
02:34our aid from organizations that are trying to support is not allowed into the country. So aid organizations
02:43cannot be present to support them. The people that work with us and for us, for Care International in Gaza,
02:51they are like the communities, they're victim to the situation. And we can't bring in
02:57anything into the country to support them. And from today, of course, Israel closing another
03:04crossing, the one between the West Bank, the occupied West Bank and Jordan, cutting off the
03:09passage of both that desperately needed aid and Palestinians who can't get in any other way.
03:15What kind of repercussions are there going to be when we see further passages being blocked like that
03:21You would want to see repercussions. And you would hope that now with the meeting, the United Nations Assembly in New York,
03:32that world leaders come together and do decide to stand up that the suffering that we're all witnessing needs to come to an end.
03:41And there seem not to be any repercussions. And I think the pressure that as INGOs, we are also trying to help build up with the stories that we are witnessing in Gaza,
03:54and we're seeing it here in front of us. Everything that is politically, economically and humanely possible needs to be done now,
04:04so that we can still enter and save the lives that are left in Gaza. And for saving the people that are still there, it is not yet too late.
04:15And you mentioned world leaders there. You know, despite the arrest warrant issued in his name, the Israeli Prime Minister is going to be at the UN General Assembly later this week.
04:25What kind of reaction does he need to get when he's there? What do you expect to happen? And what kind of message does his presence send?
04:32Actually, he's also going to be holding further talks with Donald Trump at the White House.
04:38I think we can only hope that he's held accountable by other world leaders, that there is a strong signal and repercussions and consequences if this inhumanity,
04:54if this inhumane suffering that we're witnessing doesn't stop.
04:58It's difficult to believe that we can all continue to stand by and see this happening and fight over whether or not we should or shouldn't call it a genocide,
05:08if we see it's an unprecedented humanitarian crisis that can be stopped, that is deliberate, and it can be stopped and we're not doing it.
05:20So we shouldn't ask ourselves if it should get worse or if somebody needs to rule what this is and what it should be called.
05:27It really, really needs to stop. And if all world leaders are there together, it's difficult to imagine that we're just going to say,
05:35well, we need more evidence or let's give this some time. It's difficult to put into words if you see what is going on.
05:47Yeah. And, you know, obviously another big story this week, the recognition of a Palestinian state by France and others.
05:53Do you think that this is going to actually make any difference to people on the ground, perhaps not in the short term, but in the longer term?
06:01I think this is another step. I think for now, as a humanitarian organization, we really want to focus on saving the lives of the people that are surviving this in some miraculous way.
06:17And as a humanitarian organization, that's what we focus on and what then follows in terms of political decisions.
06:25We can only hope that that will be better for the people that live in Gaza.
06:30And we hear as well, you know, repeated accusations over the last few weeks, few months, that medical staff are also being targeted by Israel.
06:41This is something, of course, that the Israeli government denies. But are you seeing evidence of that yourself or your kind of your staff reporting that that is how they feel that actually medics, doctors, nurses are dying in increasing numbers in Gaza?
06:57Yeah, I cannot tell you the numbers exactly. Obviously, none of us knows.
07:03But we do know that from the partners that we work with in Gaza that run a health clinic in Gaza City, one of the eight workers that we work with there was actually killed in an Israeli airstrike and her two children from three and five years old as well.
07:22So we can say that that actually happens to our own staff and the staff of our partners in the area.
07:29And you will have to leave it there for now. Thanks so much, though, for being with us on the programme this evening.
07:34That's Rencha van Heeren, Executive Director of Care International. Thank you.
07:38Thank you for having me.
07:40Meanwhile, we have a great conversation.
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