Published December 08,2023
Subscribe
The humanitarian assist system within the besieged Gaza Strip faces “total collapse” amid an unprecedented variety of slain UN staff, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned Friday.
There could be “devastating consequences,” ought to the help community fail, and if that have been to occur, it “would result in a complete breakdown of public order and increased pressure for mass displacement into Egypt,” Guterres mentioned.
“I fear the consequences could be devastating for the security of the entire region,” he advised the Security Council forward of an anticipated vote on a draft decision demanding an instantaneous humanitarian ceasefire to finish the hostilities.
“The risk of collapse of the humanitarian system is fundamentally linked with a complete lack of safety and security for our staff in Gaza, and with the nature and intensity of military operations, which are severely limiting access to people in desperate need,” he added.
The UN Relief Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) is at present facilitating support for over 2.2 million Palestinians in Gaza, together with over 1.2 million individuals who have sought shelter within the group’s services.
The physique has warned that the scenario is nearing “a point of no return” within the coastal enclave “where the blatant disregard for international humanitarian law scars our collective conscience.”
At least 133 UNRWA staff have been killed, making the conflict in Gaza the deadliest for UN personnel within the worldwide physique’s historical past, and 91 UNRWA services have been broken throughout the battle. Many of the UN staff have been killed of their properties alongside their households.
Meanwhile, Guterres mentioned Palestinians in Gaza “are being told to move like human pinballs-ricocheting between ever-smaller slivers of the south, without any of the basics for survival,” alluding to Israeli orders for individuals to depart areas they plan to bomb. He cautioned, nonetheless, that “nowhere in Gaza is safe.”
“The people of Gaza are looking into the abyss. The international community must do everything possible to end their ordeal. I urge the Council to spare no effort to push for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire, for the protection of civilians, and for the urgent delivery of lifesaving aid,” he mentioned. “The eyes of the world-and the eyes of history-are watching.”
On Wednesday, Guterres invoked Article 99 of the UN Charter for the primary time since he assumed the group’s prime publish in 2017 for the institution of a cease-fire, saying the present situations are making it not possible for “meaningful humanitarian operations” to be carried out.
At least 17,487 Palestinians have been killed and greater than 46,480 others injured in relentless air and floor assaults within the Gaza Strip since Oct. 7 following a cross-border assault by Palestinian group Hamas.
The Israeli dying toll from the Hamas assault stands at 1,200, based on official figures.
Source: www.anews.com.tr