Full, Permanent Ceasefire Only ‘Path to Ending Ongoing Violence, Humanitarian Catastrophe in Gaza’, Assistant Secretary-General Tells Security Council

05 August 2025

9972nd Meeting (PM)

Delegates Call on Hamas to Immediately, Unconditionally Release All Hostages

Nothing can justify the starvation and disproportionate suffering of Palestinian civilians in Gaza, delegates told the Security Council today, as they called for the immediate and unconditional release of the remaining hostages, who have been held in captivity by Hamas for 669 days.

In the past week, said Miroslav Jenča, Assistant Secretary-General for Europe, Central Asia and Americas, Departments of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs and Peace Operations, Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad released images and videos of two hostages — Evaytar David and Rom Braslavsky — looking visibly emaciated, as they described the horrifying conditions of their captivity. “The scenes of Evaytar apparently being forced to dig his own grave are appalling […] an affront to humanity itself,” he said.

Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups continue to hold 50 hostages, 28 of whom are thought to be deceased, in captivity in horrific conditions, he continued, recalling distressing accounts of deprivation, ill-treatment and abuse from the released hostages. Underscoring that hostage-taking is a war crime and those deprived of liberty must be treated humanely and with dignity and allowed to receive visits from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), he called on Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups to immediately and unconditionally release all hostages.

Addressing the “unbearable” situation in Gaza, he said that Palestinians are subjected to squalid, inhumane conditions daily. Since the beginning of the conflict, over 60,000 Palestinians have been killed, according to the Gaza Ministry of Health. Since the end of May, over 1,200 Palestinians have been killed and over 8,100 injured while trying to access food supplies, including near militarized aid distribution sites. “The deaths and injuries continue to mount, day by day, with no end in sight to the suffering,” he said.

“Hunger is everywhere in Gaza, visible in the faces of children and in the desperation of parents risking their lives to access the most basic supplies,” he stressed, noting that Israel continues to severely restrict humanitarian assistance entering Gaza and the aid that is permitted to enter is “grossly inadequate”. Emphasizing that the targeting of civilians or deliberate deprivation of food or access to other life-saving aid is a war crime, he urged Israel to immediately allow and facilitate the rapid and unimpeded passage of sufficient amounts of humanitarian relief.

Relatedly, he sounded the alarm over the latest reports regarding Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s possible decision to expand his country’s military operations throughout the entire Gaza Strip. “This would risk catastrophic consequences for millions of Palestinians and could further endanger the lives of the remaining hostages in Gaza,” he warned, adding: “Gaza is and must remain an integral part of a future Palestinian State.” As declared by the International Court of Justice, in its Advisory Opinion of 19 July 2024, Israel is obligated to cease immediately all new settlement activities, evacuate all settlers from the Occupied Palestinian Territory, and end its unlawful presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory — Gaza and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem — as rapidly as possible.

“There is only one path to ending the ongoing violence and humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza — a full and permanent ceasefire,” he stated.

The Council then heard a harrowing testimony from Ilay David — the brother of hostage Eyvatar David, who was kidnapped from the Nova Festival and is now held by Hamas along with as many as 48 other hostages in Gaza. What is happening to Eyvatar and his friend, fellow hostage Guy, is “an act of calculated and depraved cruelty that defies human comprehension”, he stated, describing the latest images of his brother as a “living skeleton” barely with the strength to move or speak, forced to “dig his own grave inside the filthy dark tunnel in Gaza”.

Demanding that the Council act immediately for the unconditional release of all hostages, he called for humanitarian aid to reach them. “While aid flows into Gaza to help the population, the hostages are being denied even the most basic necessities of life”, he stressed. Warning that “every moment of delay is a step closer to a final tragic outcome”, he affirmed that “we and the other hostage families cannot wait any longer”.

Gideon Saar, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Israel, stated that, since 1947, Palestinians “had countless opportunities to reach peace”, but “rejected them all”. Citing the “cruel starvation” of Mr. David and Mr. Braslavski, he described the attempt to link “our starved hostages” and a blood libel against his country as “a campaign of lies”. Israel has facilitated huge amounts of aid into Gaza in “an unprecedented way in the history of wars”, while Hamas takes the aid.

He noted that the hostages still have not seen the ICRC representatives, while “the murderers being held in Israeli prisons receive medical care and nutrition”. Citing the absence of any photos of the hostages in The New York Times and asking, “is this not newsworthy”, he lamented an “upside-down world” where the global media shift responsibility from the kidnappers and rapists to the country attacked from seven different fronts. He called on the Council to “finally condemn Hamas for its evil crimes” and “demand the immediate release of all our hostages”.

The Permanent Observer of the State of Palestine condemned all attacks against civilians, whether Palestinian or Israeli. While Israel demands that the world take a stand against starvation, it is starving an entire civilian population and holding 2 million people captive under its deadly siege, he stressed. He added that 76 Palestinian prisoners have died from torture, starvation or medical neglect in the last 20 months alone, citing videos showing Israeli jailers raping, beating and humiliating Palestinian prisoners.

He continued that what Israel did before 7 October 2023 cannot justify harming Israeli civilians, just as what Hamas did on 7 October 2023 cannot justify harming Palestinian civilians thereafter. The solution, he stressed, is to end Israel’s illegal occupation, resolve the devastating conflict, and achieve an independent and sovereign Palestinian State. The International Conference — co-chaired by Saudi Arabia and France and attended by around 185 States — has charted “an irreversible path to peace”, he stressed, reiterating Palestine’s readiness to work with the United States, Saudi Arabia and France to finally achieve peace in the Middle East. “Enough bloodshed. Enough wars. Enough suffering,” he said.

Numerous delegates echoed his call for an immediate ceasefire, urging unimpeded humanitarian access and the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages.

Underscoring that Mr. David’s presence “sheds light on the profound human toll of this conflict,” Denmark’s delegate said that the remaining 50 hostages have been held in captivity for 669 days of “a waking nightmare”, deprived of their freedom and dignity and used as human bargaining chips by Hamas.

Adding to that, Argentina’s delegate demanded the unconditional and immediate return of four Argentines still in captivity, underscoring that “there is no possible justification for such barbarity and antisemitism”.

While expressing deep concern for the hostages, Sierra Leone’s delegate underscored that the international community “cannot ignore the wider humanitarian catastrophe” engulfing Gaza.

“The suffering of the kidnapped hostages coexists with the daily tragedy of the Palestinian civilian population in Gaza,” echoed Panama’s delegate, Council President for the month and speaking in his national capacity. Noting that all civilians in the Strip are bearing the consequences of Hamas extremists, he emphasized that Gaza’s future should be free from Hamas.

“Over the past weekend, bombardments have intensified across the Strip, including areas where displaced families sought safety,” cautioned Somalia’s delegate, adding that “there is currently no safe place in Gaza”.

What has been allowed into Gaza as humanitarian relief, said Algeria’s delegate, is “a drop in an ocean of need”. However, “airdrops are not a solution,” he stressed, noting that humanitarian access is a legal obligation under the Geneva Conventions.

Deliberate starvation “is unlawful and morally unacceptable — wherever it occurs, and whoever perpetrates it”, stated Slovenia’s delegate. Echoing the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification’s alarm that the “worst case scenario” of famine and humanitarian catastrophe is “unfolding before our eyes”, he called on Israel to facilitate the immediate, safe and unhindered delivery of humanitarian assistance at scale to the population of Gaza.

“It would be an abomination for the international community to continue to allow innocent people, least of all innocent children, to starve in the sight of food”, concurred Guyana’s delegate.

On the reports that Israel has begun tactical pauses for 10 hours a day in Al-Mawasi, Deir al Balah and Gaza City, the speaker for the Republic of Korea said it is “better than nothing” but has not improved the hunger situation on the ground. Instead, he called on Israel to expand the humanitarian pauses throughout the Strip.

Underscoring that humanitarians and medical personnel should not be targeted, the Russian Federation’s representative recounted how the Israeli military mercilessly shot the Palestinian Red Crescent ambulance personnel whose bodies were later discovered in a mass grave. Israel must stop this lawlessness, he asserted.

For his part, Pakistan’s representative recalled that around 9,500 Palestinians — including hundreds of children and women — are currently imprisoned, onethird without charge or trial, “a profound violation of basic human rights”.

Recalling the accounts of doctors who had served in Gaza, the United Kingdom’s delegate said: “They had seen children so malnourished that their wounds festered for months without healing; they had seen baby formula confiscated by the IDF [Israel Defense Forces] at the border — depriving newborns of the basic essentials for life.”

“The ceasefire earlier this year showed what can be achieved when there is political will and last week’s two-State solution conference showed what can be achieved when the international community comes together,” she continued, urging the parties to reinvigorate their efforts to secure a ceasefire deal and an end to the conflict.

Also underlining the significance of the conference, France’s delegate welcomed the historic gesture by Arab countries, which, for the first time, condemned Hamas’ crimes and proclaimed their aspiration to establish relations with Israel. “This is how we will break the cycle of violence and reopen the path to peace in the Middle East”, he stated.

“Unproductive publicity stunts like last week’s two-State solution conference and unilateral announcements regarding recognition of a Palestinian State undercut the efforts of mediators and prolong the war”, countered the representative of the United States, calling them “gifts to Hamas”. The international community should agree that the hostages must be freed without further delay and Hamas can no longer rule Gaza and must disarm, she insisted, citing allegations of genocide against Israel as “politically motivated and categorically false”.

China’s delegate, meanwhile, pointed out that the ceasefire agreement reached in January — if fully implemented — could have paved the way for a lasting ceasefire in Gaza and the return of all hostages to their families.

Rejecting forced displacement of the population from the Occupied Palestinian Territories, Greece’s delegate stated: “There can be no ‘day-after’ scenario for the Gaza Strip with Hamas”, and “there can be no ‘day-after’ scenario without the Palestinians in Gaza.”