The head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees warns that a humanitarian ceasefire is urgently needed in Gaza, as the situation has become a matter of life and death for millions. The agency's warehouses have been looted, making it difficult for them to continue operating.
Israel’s UN ambassador Gilad Erdan wears a yellow Star of David as he addresses members of the UN Security Council
Briefings to the Security Council by Mr Lazzarini, the head of the UN children’s agency Unicef, and a senior UN humanitarian official, painted a dire picture of the humanitarian situation in Gaza 23 days after Hamas’s surprise October 7 attacks in Israel, and its ongoing retaliatory military action aimed at “obliterating” the militant group, which controls Gaza.
“This means that more than 420 children are being killed or injured in Gaza each day – a number which should shake each of us to our core,” she said. But virtually every speaker also stressed that Israel is obligated under international humanitarian law to protect civilians and their essentials for life including hospitals, schools and other infrastructure – and Israel was criticised for cutting off food, water, fuel and medicine to Gaza and cutting communications for several days.
US ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield urged the divided Security Council – which has rejected four resolutions that would have responded to the October 7 Hamas attacks and the ongoing war – to come together, saying “the humanitarian crisis in Gaza is growing more dire by the day”. Israel’s UN ambassador Gilad Erdan was sharply critical of the council’s failure to condemn Hamas’s attacks and asked members: “Why are the humanitarian needs of Gazans, the sole issue, the sole issue you are focused on?”
UN Palestinian Refugees Gaza Humanitarian Ceasefire Collective Punishment Civil Order Looting Aid UN Agency Children's Agency Humanitarian Crisis
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