SINGAPORE — Former president Halimah Yacob on Feb 26 called for the world to "stand on the side of humanity", questioning the morality of the ongoing situation in Gaza as the Palestinian death toll reaches almost 30,000.
In a Facebook post, Madam Halimah highlighted the dithering on efforts to reach a ceasefire, stating that "international laws and international bodies are rendered irrelevant".
"The consensus built after the horrors of WW 2 (World War II), to protect the innocents during wars, has been severely compromised. The world is forever changed," she said.
Law and Home Affairs Minister K. Shanmugam shared Madam Halimah's post on his Facebook page with a single sentence: "Our ex-president Madam Halimah has spoken powerfully, and I agree with her."
Madam Halimah had previously published similar posts on Facebook calling for intervention, and questioned the effectiveness of international law in months prior.
In her Feb 26 post, she also noted the death toll — made up mostly of women and children, according to Gaza's Health Ministry — as well as the destruction of hospitals, homes, power grids, schools, roads and other civilian infrastructure.
"There's nowhere to go. They are bombed from the land, sea and air in Rafah in southern Gaza. Earlier, they were told to leave northern Gaza, which they did, only to be killed later."
Madam Halimah lamented the "degradation of the human soul", listing anecdotes of Israel Defence Forces soldiers revelling amid the destruction, and proud public declarations of "grandmothers and mothers" that they would not allow aid to reach those in need, which include many children.
"Our natural instincts are to protect the weakest and most vulnerable amongst us. What's happened to the human soul?" she asked.
"After this is over, will the same people be able to live with their consciences knowing that they contributed to the deaths and destruction of thousands of innocent lives?"
The post had garnered nearly 800 reactions and over 300 shares and comments at the time of publication of this article.
Gaza's humanitarian crisis has spiralled in the five months since the war began, with the United Nations World Food Programme reporting "unprecedented levels of desperation" — some residents have resorted to eating scavenged scraps of rotten corn, animal fodder, the meat of slaughtered horses, and even leaves from trees.
The flow of aid entering Gaza from Egypt has almost dried up, and a collapse in security has made it increasingly difficult to distribute the food that does get through.
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At the Group of 20 foreign ministers' meeting on Feb 21 and 22 in Rio de Janeiro, Minister in the Prime Minister's Office Maliki Osman reiterated Singapore's support for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in the Gaza Strip to facilitate the urgent delivery of aid to affected civilians, and called for the safe, immediate and unconditional release of all civilian hostages.
On Feb 16, the UN's International Court of Justice said it did not see the need for additional emergency measures to protect Palestinians' rights.
The court said the "perilous situation" in the Gaza Strip and in Rafah particularly "demands immediate and effective implementation of the provisional measures" per its order on Jan 26, and "does not demand the indication of additional provisional measures".
It will be hearing arguments from more than 50 states following a request by the UN General Assembly in 2022 to issue a non-binding opinion on the legal consequences of the Israeli occupation of Palestine. The hearings are part of a Palestinian push to get international legal institutions to examine Israel's conduct.
Singapore has made several humanitarian aid contributions to Gaza, including sending a medical team to treat civilian casualties who have been taken to Egypt, and supplies such as medicine, sanitation items and food for civilians.
Humanitarian aid organisations such as the Singapore Red Cross and Humanity Matters have also sent relief supplies worth hundreds of thousands of dollars to humanitarian workers who are helping civilians caught in the war. A fund raiser to provide aid for communities in Gaza raised more than $4 million in November 2023.
An attack by Hamas militants against Israel on Oct 7 killed 1,400 people and saw more than 200 others taken hostage, with Israel launching a series of retaliatory strikes and imposing a blockade on the Gaza Strip, which is about half the size of Singapore.
The Palestinian death toll has since reached almost 30,000, according to a Reuters report citing Gaza medical officials.
This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.
