Security Council debates Gaza crisis, as civilian suffering continues unabated
The UN Security Council on Wednesday convened an open debate on the ongoing crisis in Gaza, which continues to be marked by immense suffering - compounded now by a complete breakdown of law and order - and a humanitarian system on the brink of collapse.
Addressing ambassadors on behalf of UN Secretary-General António Guterres, Chef-de-Cabinet Courtenay Rattray warned that on top of the dire situation in the war-ravaged enclave, the spectre of further regional spillover is increasing by the day.
End collective punishment
Reiterating his strong condemnation of the brutal attacks by Hamas and other armed groups on 7 October last year, Mr. Rattray stressed that nothing can justify the collective punishment of the Palestinian people.
He noted that in recent weeks, Israeli military operations and fighting has intensified across Gaza, while rockets continue to be launched by Palestinian armed groups from the enclave towards Israeli towns and cities.
“Rafah is in ruins – and the Rafah crossing remains closed, further hampering humanitarian operations. Almost two million people have been displaced – nearly the entire population of Gaza – and many of them multiple times,” he said.
“Nowhere in Gaza is safe,” he stressed.
Occupied West Bank
Mr. Rattray also voiced deep concern over the situation in the occupied West Bank, amid high levels of violence by Israeli security forces, settlers and Palestinian militants.
Between 7 October 2023 and 8 July, 553 Palestinians, including 131 children, were killed in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem – the vast majority in the context of Israeli security operations. During the same period, 22 Israelis, including nine members of Israeli forces, were killed by Palestinians in Israel and occupied territories.
Israeli administrative and legal steps are also “steadily altering” the geography of the occupied West Bank, Mr. Rattray said.
“The seizure of large land parcels in strategic areas and changes to planning, land management and governance are expected to significantly accelerate settlement expansion,” he added.
Irreparable damage
He briefed ambassadors on two military orders issued at the end of May, which transferred powers to a civilian deputy in Israel’s Civil Administration.
“This move is another significant advance in the ongoing transfer of authority over many aspects of daily life in the occupied West Bank”, he said.
“If left unaddressed, these measures risk causing irreparable damage...we must change course. All settlement activity must cease immediately. Israeli settlements are a flagrant violation of international law and a key obstacle to peace.”
The war must end
While noting that the UN continues its effort to deliver aid to Palestinians in Gaza and to secure the release of all hostages held by Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups, Chef-de-Cabinet Rattray reiterated the need for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire and the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages.
“The parties must reach such a deal now...and this terrible war must end,” he stressed.
Palestine: End the Israeli occupation now
Riyad Mansour, Permanent Observer for the observer State of Palestine, said Israel has, for months, manufactured a humanitarian catastrophe, with famine at its core as it wields starvation, dehydration and the spread of diseases as “the ultimate weapons”.
“Two million people who were subjected to a 17-year-old blockade are now confronted with a hermetic siege, dying of hunger and disease while food and medicine are available only meters away,” he said, adding that until now, Israel “pretended” the blockade, its walls and military rule were about security.
Underscoring that there is a reason Israel behaves this way, he said “everything in its history tells it it will get away with it. It is betting this time will be no exception. But, this time must be the exception, and change must start right now.”
Global consensus has emerged
While the Security Council adopted resolution 2735 in June to achieve an immediate ceasefire leading to a permanent cessation of hostilities, he said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “does not care about Palestinian civilian lives or even the hostages’ life” nor about international law or human decency, and only cares about his own political survival.
However, in recent weeks, there is a global consensus in support of the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination and the two-State solution - in line with UN resolutions and international law, he said, citing the International Court of Justice (ICJ) cases against Israel.
“There is more convergence on the Palestine question than on any other matter on the international agenda,” he added.
Israel: Release the hostages now
Gilad Erdan, Israeli Ambassador and Permanent Representative, highlighted the continued suffering of the hostages, demanding their immediate release.
“We do not dare to think what horrors they are experiencing at this very minute…I beg you to look into their eyes and look at the sheer brutality that Hamas is doing to them,” he told ambassadors.
“The situation of the hostages alone is a crime against humanity,” he stressed, adding that the war will not end until the hostages are released and that Israel “will not leave a single hostage behind”.
Threats against Israel
He also called on the Security Council to pay attention to the crisis in the wider Middle East region, accusing Iran of threatening peace and stability.
“If you choose to address this issue properly, we can improve the chances of peace and security in the region. The choice is urgent, and the choice is yours,” he said.
He added that Iran is not just a “missing element” in any conversation on Gaza, but is the “central element”.
“Without taking meaningful action against Iran, the death and bloodshed will increase and spread. This is the truth about the multiple-front war against the Jewish State,” he said.
Russia: Failed US policy triggered ‘explosion of violence’
Sergey Lavrov, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Russia, which holds the Council presidency for July, spoke in his national capacity, saying that “today, Gaza is in ruins,” becoming once again the only conflict zone in the world from which people are not even allowed to flee, due to closed borders.
Stressing that the current “unprecedented explosion of violence in the Middle East” is largely a consequence of the failed US policy in the region, he said that by providing diplomatic cover for Israel’s actions, supplying weapons and ammunition, “Washington has become a direct participant in the conflict, just as in the case of the situation in Ukraine; if this support stops, the bloodshed will be stopped.”
UNRWA indispensible
Expressing Russia’s support for a permanent and widespread ceasefire, which will make it possible to release the 120 Israeli hostages and about 9,500 Palestinians arbitrarily arrested since 7 October, he called for safe and adequate humanitarian access to all victims and those in need, reaffirming the key mandate of UNRWA as “a unique structure for providing assistance to Palestinians”.
“Today, we all have a responsibility to stop the unfolding human tragedy,” he said, underscoring that the cessation of violence in Gaza and the West Bank can create conditions not only for the search for a lasting settlement of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, but also for overcoming “other hotbeds of crisis in the vast Middle East” in line with Council resolutions.
To do this, he said, all external players must “step over their geopolitical ambitions…and stop the decades-long policy of discrimination against the Palestinian people”.
Guyana calls for immediate ceasefire
Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett, Permanent Representative of Guyana, expressed hope that resolution 2735 would have already silenced the bombs and bullets that continue to rain down on the enclave, emphasising that “the silence has been deafening on a possible solution to end the war in Gaza.”
“It is the responsibility of this Council to continue to do all in its power to bring an end to this war,” the ambassador said, calling for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire and release of all hostages and Palestinians detained without trial in Israeli prisons and urging adherence to previous Security Council resolutions.
She also called for a collective mustering of political will to secure a stable future for the region alongside a set of actions, including the protection of UN and humanitarian personnel and the scaling up of aid entering Gaza, underlining Israel’s obligation as the occupying power to ensure that the population has access to assistance and echoing the ICJ’s related demands.
Actions must reduce tensions in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and heightened violence between Palestinians and Israelis, Ms. Rodrigues-Birkett said, adding that “we further call for good faith efforts aimed at reducing tensions in the region.”
United States: Civilians living in hell
US Ambassador and Permanent Representative Linda Thomas-Greenfield spotlighted the efforts of her country alongside Qatar, Egypt and other partners to bring about an immediate ceasefire, the release of hostages and delivery of aid to Palestinians in need.
“This Council knows well that nothing about securing peace is easy and progress is certainly not as quick as we all wish it would be. We see that in the ongoing talks…but we remain persistent,” she declared.
“We have worked tirelessly to facilitate the deal this Council endorsed in resolution 2735,” she added.
She underscored that Hamas must be pressured to accept the deal and begin implementing it without delay and without conditions. Israel must also take additional immediate steps to eliminate barriers to the delivery of aid at scale.
We must persist
Ambassador Thomas-Greenfield also emphasized the catastrophic humanitarian situation in Gaza.
Palestinian civilians are “living in hell, over and over” fleeing from one place to another in search of safety, she said, noting the recent Israel Defence Forces (IDF) strike on a UN-supported school in Nuseirat.
“Finalizing and implementing the ceasefire deal on the table is the best way to alleviate suffering,” she added, expressing hope that a ceasefire in Gaza would assist diplomacy aimed at de-escalating the situation in the wider Middle East region.