Halimah Yacob asks public not to forget ongoing Gaza crisis amid Israel-Iran military strikes

Former president Halimah Yacob commented on her social media asking the public not to forget about the plight of Palestinians, amid rising tensions between Israel and Iran.

A few days prior, Israel confirmed it had launched multiple strikes against Iran's nuclear programme and other military targets, saying that the latter had enough nuclear material to create nuclear bombs within days.

Palestinians worry that the escalating conflict between the two countries would shift the world's focus away from its humanitarian crisis, according to The New York Times.

"Palestinians are still being killed by Israeli soldiers and continue to starve. Don’t forget them," Halimah wrote in a Facebook post on Jun. 16.

Not the first time

The former president of Singapore has publicly spoken about the crisis in Gaza over the past few years, with recent examples including criticising U.S. President Donald Trump's remarks to "take over" Gaza and the rising death toll of over 50,000 in the area.

Earlier this month, Halimah voiced concerns about Palestinians reportedly being killed or wounded as they attempt to collect food parcels at distribution centres in Gaza, describing it to be "cruel and dehumanising".

U.S.-registered non-profit Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), which is supervised by the Israeli military, became the main distributor of aid in Gaza since the end of May.

GHF said it distributed 36,000 food boxes, which totalled more than 2.1 million meals, on Jun. 15.

However, there have also been reports of shootings near the sites, with local authorities saying at least 35 Palestinians were killed on Jun. 16, according to Reuters and The Guardian.

The Israeli army spokesperson said their soldiers fired towards suspects who "were approaching in a way that endangered" the troops, reported AFP.

The United Nations stated it will not participate in any aid plan that does not respect international law and called for "unimpeded entry of assistance" to be restored immediately.

Death toll of Palestinian civilians over 50,000

A recent UN Security Council resolution calling for a ceasefire and unrestricted humanitarian access in Gaza was blocked by the U.S. on Jun. 4.

The U.S. envoy said the resolution "would undermine diplomatic efforts to reach a ceasefire that reflects the realities on the ground and emboldens Hamas", as well as "draw false equivalence between Israel and Hamas".

Since the latest crisis began on Oct. 7, 2023, the Gaza Health Ministry, run by Hamas, reported 54,607 to have been killed, while AFP reported Hamas' attack on Israel to have resulted in 1,218 deaths.

The death tolls calculated for both are said to be mostly civilians.

Top image via Halimah Yacob/Facebook