Hamas urges armed people to leave besieged Yarmouk refugee camp

Seeking to help save lives of starving Palestinian refugees in Yarmouk refugee camp, the Palestinian Hamas Movement appealed to all armed people to leave the refugee camp immediately. "We call on all armed people in the camp to leave to allow for the save lives of over 50,000 of civilians inside and to avoid shedding the blood of the camp inhabitants, including women, children, patients," Hamas said in a press statement on Wednesday. The Palestinian movement also demanded positive response to the efforts exerted to the end the ordeal of the camp. It warned that "The Palestinian refugees in Yarmouk camp are facing humanitarian disaster due to the attempts to drag them to the Syrian civil conflict." Hamas pointed out that Yarmouk inhabitants, mainly children, are dying from starvation and diseases. It added the suffering of the besieged refugees was beyond the ability of anybody to tolerate, warning of an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe. The Palestinian group called for lifting the siege on the camp and opening the doors to urgently-needed humanitarian assistance. "We stress the need to keep Palestinian refugees out of the conflict in Syria," Hamas said. Thousands of Palestinian refugees inside the camp continued to suffer from an extreme lack of essential items, including food and medicine. International humanitarian organizations have been unable to deliver aid to camp residents since last September.