Flotilla passenger headed to Gaza tells France 24 we have collective responsibility to aid civilians

Eve Irvine welcomes Dr. James Smith, an emergency doctor who has worked in war‐torn Gaza over the past two years. He was denied entry twice by the Israeli military and is now on board the flotilla in a collective effort to end the blockade of humanitarian aid. He argues: “All of us bear a collective responsibility to prevent the commission of atrocity crimes.” Dr. Smith, also Deputy Director of UCL’s MSc in Humanitarian Policy & Practice, warns that Israel is not only blocking aid and healthcare access, but “systematically targeting” Palestinian health workers. With 90 % of Gaza displaced, there is no dignified refuge for 2.1 million people. He says the flotilla is one element in a wider Palestinian solidarity movement resisting genocide, apartheid and settler colonialism. Dr. Smith warns leaders across the globe that they cannot claim ignorance any longer: "They know and they have chosen not to act."