In a compelling address before the United Nations Security Council, Philippe Lazzarini, the Commissioner General for the primary UN agency in Palestine, delivered a stark warning. He asserted that the entire populace of Gaza is spiraling into dehumanization, emphasizing that a ceasefire has now evolved into a matter of life and death for millions.
Lazzarini, the Commissioner General for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), was one of three distinguished speakers who presented a chilling overview of the extensive devastation unfolding in Gaza. United Nations agencies are relentlessly pressing the Security Council to set aside their differences and support an immediate humanitarian ceasefire.
These impassioned speakers elucidated a tragic breakdown in civil order, the severe scarcity of clean water, and a child mortality rate that parallels the number of children who have perished in conflicts over the past four years.
This debate, initiated by the United Arab Emirates, aims to build upon the momentum generated by Friday’s UN General Assembly vote calling for a humanitarian truce. This vote was strategically designed to exert pressure on global superpowers, urging them to abandon their opposition to a ceasefire.
Historically, four prior draft resolutions related to the crisis were met with vetoes, mainly by Russia and the United States. Presently, efforts are underway by the ten elected members of the Security Council, including Brazil, the current Council President, to draft a resolution that would compel the five permanent members to concur.
Lazzarini unequivocally accused Israel of inflicting “collective punishment” upon the Gaza population, forcing them from the north to the southern regions, where they remain perilously unsafe.
Tragically, over 8,000 Palestinians have now lost their lives due to Israel’s relentless onslaught, including 64 UNRWA personnel. Lazzarini lamented the loss of Samir, a UN worker, his wife, and their eight children, who perished just hours prior to the meeting.
“My UNRWA colleagues serve as the sole beacon of hope in the entire Gaza Strip. However, their capacity to operate is diminishing rapidly as essential resources such as fuel, water, food, and medicine are dwindling,” asserted the Swiss-Italian official.
The impending Security Council resolution, if approved, will carry legal weight and is expected to be unveiled in the coming days. Nevertheless, Russia and the United States remain at odds, with Russia demanding unreserved support for a comprehensive ceasefire, a proposition previously rebuffed by the United States.
UAE Ambassador Lana Zaki Nusseibeh cautioned that the Council could be rendered ineffective if it disregarded the collective will of the international community, as expressed through the General Assembly’s vote.
She drew attention to the alarming 76 attacks on healthcare institutions in Gaza, resulting in damage to 20 hospitals. “It is imperative to clarify that these sites enjoy protection under international law,” she affirmed, underscoring that advance warnings before attacks do not alter their protected status.
Nusseibeh urged an end to hazardous and unrealistic evacuation orders, branding them “cruel and reckless,” while also criticizing the Security Council’s sluggish response.
She emphasized, “The drums of war are sounding, and heeding these warnings begins with halting this conflict in Gaza. It is not in Israel’s interest or international security to permit this relentless war to continue, where innocent civilians bear the brunt of the suffering.”
US Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield voiced support for humanitarian pauses to facilitate hostage release, the safe departure of foreign nationals, and secure transit for civilians.
Lazzarini asserted that nowhere in Gaza was now safe, and he issued a dire warning that any further deterioration of civil order in the region would make the delivery of aid “extremely difficult, if not impossible.”
He argued that the people of Gaza feel abandoned and wrongly equated with Hamas by the world, which he deemed a dangerous trend. “The transgressions of Hamas do not absolve the state of Israel from its obligations under international humanitarian law. Every conflict is governed by rules, and this one is no exception,” he declared.
A senior UN aid official, Lisa Doughten, underscored the necessity for multiple entry points into Gaza to efficiently provide aid. Regrettably, Kerem Shalom, controlled by Israel, is presently the sole crossing equipped to handle a sufficient volume of trucks. Aid shipments have been sporadically entering Gaza from Egypt via Rafah, the principal crossing that does not share a border with Israel.
This dire situation in Gaza continues to escalate, necessitating immediate global attention and action to alleviate the suffering of its beleaguered population.
