![]() The international community has a responsibility to use all its influence to prevent further escalation and end this crisis. Such an outcome must be avoided at all cost. The situation is fast deteriorating into a catastrophe with potentially irreversible implications for Palestinians as a whole and for peace and security in the region. We are facing a severe risk of collapse of the humanitarian system. At least 130 UNRWA colleagues have been killed, many with their families. Humanitarian personnel have joined the vast majority of Gazan civilians in evacuating to south Gaza ahead of advancing military operations. The capacity of the United Nations and its humanitarian partners has been decimated by supply shortages, lack of fuel, interrupted communications, and growing insecurity. We are simply unable to reach those in need inside Gaza. While delivery of supplies through Rafah continues, quantities are insufficient and have dropped since the pause came to an end. We are, nevertheless, preparing options for monitoring the implementation of the resolution, even if we recognize that in the present circumstances, that is untenable. The current conditions are making it impossible for meaningful humanitarian operations to be conducted. In Resolution 2712 (2023), the Security Council "calls for the scaling up of the provision of such supplies to meet the humanitarian needs of the civilian population, especially children." An even worse situation could unfold, including epidemic diseases and increased pressure for mass displacement into neighbouring countries. Under these circumstances, more people will die untreated in the coming days and weeks.Īmid constant bombardment by the Israel Defense Forces, and without shelter or the essentials to survive, I expect public order to completely break down soon due to the desperate conditions, rendering even limited humanitarian assistance impossible. They are also sheltering thousands of displaced persons. The two major hospitals in south Gaza are operating at three times their bed capacity and are running out of basic supplies and fuel. ![]() Only 14 hospitals out of 36 facilities are even partially functional. Hospitals have turned into battlegrounds. The health care system in Gaza is collapsing. There is no effective protection of civilians. Explosive remnants of war are rendering areas uninhabitable. Others have nowhere to shelter and find themselves on the street. More than 1.1 million people have sought refuge in UNRWA facilities across Gaza, creating overcrowded, undignified, and unhygienic conditions. Some 80 per cent of the population of 2.2 million has been forcibly displaced, into increasingly smaller areas. More than half of all homes have been destroyed. Since the start of lsrael's military operation, more than 15,000 people have reportedly been killed, over 40 per cent of whom were children. Accounts of sexual violence during the attacks are appalling.Ĭivilians throughout Gaza face grave danger. They must be immediately and unconditionally released. Some 250 people were abducted, including 34 children, more than 130 of whom are still captive. More than 1,200 people were brutally killed, including 33 children, and thousands were injured in the abhorrent acts of terror by Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups on 7 October 2023, which I have repeatedly condemned. More than eight weeks of hostilities in Gaza and Israel have created appalling human suffering, physical destruction and collective trauma across Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory. I am writing under Article 99 of the United Nations Charter to bring to the attention of the Security Council a matter which, in my opinion, may aggravate existing threats to the maintenance of international peace and security.
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