As civilians lining up for humanitarian aid in Gaza are being killed, speakers in the Security Council today urged Israel to lift restrictions on aid operations in the Strip, called for a return to United Nations-led delivery mechanisms, and stressed the urgent need for both the release of hostages and a ceasefire.
"Gaza's soaring humanitarian needs must be met without drawing people into a firing line," said Tom Fletcher, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator. He recalled General Assembly resolution 46/182, adopted in 1991, which laid the groundwork for modern international humanitarian assistance by establishing a framework and guiding principles - humanity, impartiality, neutrality, and independence - for the UN's role in coordinating humanitarian efforts during emergencies.
Israel, as the occupying Power, is obligated to ensure that people have food and medical supplies, he said, adding: "But that is not happening. Instead, civilians are exposed to death and injury, forcible displacement, stripped of dignity." He went on to urge Council members to consider whether Israel's rules of engagement incorporate all feasible precautions to avoid and minimize civilian harm, in all circumstances. This means verifying targets, giving effective advance warnings, carefully choosing tactics and weapons, and canceling or suspending an attack if it would cause disproportionate civilian harm, he said.
Number of Aid Trucks Currently Allowed into Gaza 'Drop in the Ocean'
Between 19 May and 14 July, only 1,633 trucks - or 62 per cent of the roughly 2,600 submitted to the Israeli authorities and 74 per cent of those approved for entry - reached the Kerem Shalom and Zikim crossings. "To be clear, this is a drop in the ocean of needs, compared to the average of 630 truckloads, that entered daily" during an earlier ceasefire, he said. The ceasefire proved what's possible. It's time to return to those levels without delay.
Turning to recent remarks by Israel's Defence Minister about moving Palestinians into a "humanitarian city", he said the proposal to forcibly displace Palestinians to a designated zone near Rafah is "not humanitarian", underscoring the need to protect civilians wherever they are, release all hostages held by Hamas, allow humanitarian aid at scale and ensure the safety of humanitarian workers. "You owe that to Israeli and Palestinian civilians, to the last hopes of a sustainable peace, and to the UN Charter," he said, calling for a ceasefire.
Today's meeting was called by Denmark, France, Greece, Slovenia and the United Kingdom, following abhorrent reports of human suffering in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including killings at aid distribution sites operated by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation - a non-UN mechanism established with support from Israel and the United States. Between 27 May and 7 July, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) recorded the killings of 798 Palestinian civilians - including children - desperate to find food, at or near distribution sites and humanitarian convoys.
International Community Failing Gaza's Children
"Among the survivors was Donia, a mother seeking a lifeline for her family after months of desperation and hunger," said Catherine Russell, Executive Director of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF). Donia's 1-year-old son, Mohammed, was killed in the attack after speaking his first words just hours earlier. The mother was lying critically injured in a hospital bed, clutching her son's tiny shoe. "No parent should experience such a horrific tragedy," she said.
"The simple truth is that we are failing Gaza's children," she said, noting that child malnutrition in Gaza has surged 180 per cent since February, with nearly 6,000 cases in June. Most households lack safe water, fueling disease outbreaks - waterborne illnesses now make up 44 per cent of medical consultations. Hospitals are overwhelmed, short on medicine and fuel, and emergency care is collapsing. At least 12,500 patients, including many children, need urgent medical evacuation, but few are being accepted abroad. "History will judge this failure harshly," she warned, adding: "And the children will judge it too."
She implored that UNICEF and its humanitarian partners be allowed to do their jobs. "We have proven that essentials like medicine, vaccines, water, food, and nutrition for babies can reach those in need, wherever they are, when we have appropriate access," she said, calling for an urgent return to the functioning UN-led aid pipeline with safe and sustained humanitarian access through all available crossings.
[...]
