Security Council Convenes to Debate Recent Developments in Middle East – Press Release

Israel Is Doing UN’s Job, Says Delegate, Citing Fight against Terror

Following a new evacuation order in Gaza’s Deir al Balah amid intensified hostilities, speakers at the Security Council emphasized the urgent need for an immediate ceasefire and for scaling up life-saving humanitarian aid to assuage the needs of a starving population.

“This nightmare of historic proportions must end immediately,” said Khaled Khiari, Assistant Secretary-General for the Middle East, Asia and the Pacific, Departments of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs and Peace Operations, as he updated the 15-member organ on the recent developments in the Middle East, including the Occupied Palestinian Territory.

Pointing out that today’s meeting takes place as intensive talks continue over a potential Gaza ceasefire agreement and release of hostages, he said:  “It is crucial that this leads to a permanent end to the war and the release of all hostages.”

Human Toll Increasing ‘By the Hour’

However, the horrific situation in Gaza continues to deteriorate, with Israeli military operations and hostilities expanding throughout the Strip and the human toll mounting by the hour, he said, adding:  “The intensive Israeli military operations in Deir al Balah that has resulted in still further Palestinian displacement and direct strikes on two UN guesthouses has further exacerbated the dire situation and impeded humanitarian operations.”

Citing figures from Gaza’s Ministry of Health that point to the killing of 1,891 Palestinians in Gaza since his last briefing on 30 June, he said that some 294 of them were reportedly killed while attempting to collect aid, including in the vicinity of militarized aid distribution sites.

Against that backdrop, he echoed the Secretary-General’s calls for the repeated displacement of the population in Gaza to cease, for the hostages to be immediately and unconditionally released, as well as his condemnation of the 17 July Israeli strike on the Catholic Church of the Holy Family in Gaza City, which killed three and injured several others.

He also voiced concern over the high levels of violence driven by ongoing Israeli military operations in the occupied West Bank, pointing to several lethal incidents, including the 1 July killing of a 17-year-old Palestinian boy during an operation in Ramallah.

“I implore the parties first and foremost to end this war,” he said, underscoring the urgent need for a ceasefire and for steps to be taken to reverse the trajectory across the Occupied Palestinian Territory, alongside fiscal relief for the Palestinian Authority.

Deaths by Design

The Permanent Observer for the State of Palestine, spotlighting the deaths by starvation of two toddlers, among fifteen people dying of hunger within the past 24 hours in Gaza, called for the saving of the 2 million people who remain in the war-ravaged enclave, 1 million of whom are children.  Israel is targeting surviving Palestinians in a scheme to take over the land, he said, deploring the deaths of hunger and thirst “by design” of those desperately trying to get food and water.  “What is being done now that could actually stop this horror?” he asked.

Citing measures, including the International Court of Justice’s landmark opinion adopted a year ago, he underscored the need for a coalition of the willing to end the occupation and the conflict.  “Red lines are useless if they can be crossed over and over again without consequences.  […] Words are meaningless if they are not followed by action,” he stressed.  The international conference to be convened at the end of the month by Saudi Arabia and France provides an opportunity to transform international law into an achievable plan to end the occupation and the conflict once and for all, he added.

Israel Making Middle East Safer

For his part, the representative of Israel said that while his country is working tirelessly to bring the 50 innocent hostages home from Gaza, Hamas has rejected every offer.  “The suffering of its own people is its greatest weapon,” he stressed.  While chaos reigns in the Middle East, with Hizbullah rearming in Lebanon, Iran’s “genocidal regime” attempting to restart its nuclear programme; and unimaginable atrocities perpetrated against Syria’s Druze minority, Israel is “making the region safer for everyone who values peace and calm”.

“In other words, we are doing the work of the United Nations,” he said, taking issue with the Organization for clinging to its political agenda and defending its agencies which have abandoned neutrality.  Critiquing “baseless” statements made by officials at the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, he said that hundreds of the agency’s employees are undergoing security vetting, with key personnel to be denied renewal of their permits, “following clear evidence of strong affiliation with Hamas”.  “Israel will continue to do what is necessary to protect its people, defend its borders, help neighbours in need and bring its hostages home; we invite the UN, finally, to do the same,” he added.

More documents related to this meeting:

• UN Assistant Secretary-General updates Security Council on Gaza crisis, urgently calls for an immediate ceasefire, the release of all hostages and increased humanitarian aid
• Security Council – 9963rd meeting on the situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question – Verbatim Record (S/PV.9963)