The entire population of Gaza is being “dehumanized,” the commissioner general of the main U.N. agency in Palestine told the U.N. Security Council, saying a ceasefire had become a matter of life and death for millions of people.
Philippe Lazzarini, UNRWA’s commissioner general, was one of three speakers who clearly described the extent of the damage inflicted on Gaza as UN agencies pressured the Security Council to put aside its divisions and agree to some form of immediate humanitarian ceasefire support.
Speakers reported extensively on the collapse of civil order, the loss of clean water and a child mortality rate equal to the number killed in conflict over the past four years.
The debate, convened by the United Arab Emirates, was intended to build on the momentum created by the U.N. General Assembly’s vote on Friday for a humanitarian ceasefire, a vote seen as a way to shame superpowers into abandoning their case for it , not to support a form of ceasefire ceasefire.
Four previous UN Security Council draft resolutions on this crisis were rejected by either Russia or the United States. The Security Council’s 10 elected members – including Brazil, the current Security Council president – are now scrambling to draft a resolution that the five permanent members would feel compelled to adopt.
Lazzarini accused Israel of “collective punishment” of the people of Gaza and forced expulsion from the territory’s north to the south – where they are still not safe.
More than 8,000 Palestinians were killed in the Israeli attack, including 64 UNRWA employees, according to Lazzarini.
He said a U.N. worker named Samir, as well as Samir’s wife and eight children, were killed just hours before the meeting.
“My UNRWA colleagues are the only glimmer of hope for the entire Gaza Strip… but they are running out of fuel, water, food and medicine and will soon be unable to operate,” the Swiss-Italian official said.
The proposed Security Council resolution – which would be legally binding if passed – is expected to be published in the next few days. But Russia and the US are still far apart, with Russia demanding a full ceasefire from the US, which it has previously rejected.
UAE Ambassador Lana Zaki Nusseibeh said the council could be completely dismantled if it ignores the will of most of the world as reflected in the General Assembly vote.
She said there had been 76 attacks on health facilities in Gaza, with 20 hospitals damaged. “Let me be clear that these sites are protected by international law,” she said, adding that warnings of attacks did not change the protected status of hospitals.
Dangerous and unrealistic evacuation orders must end, she said, describing them as “cruel and reckless, as is our delay as a Security Council.”
She continued: “Beating the drums of war. To take these warnings seriously, the war in Gaza must end. We do not serve Israel’s security by allowing it to continue. We cannot reverse Hamas’s heinous attacks on October 7 by condoning this war for which civilians are paying the price.”
Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the U.S. ambassador, said she supports humanitarian pauses to allow hostages to escape, allow foreign citizens to leave and allow civilians safe passage.
Lazzarini said no place was safe in Gaza and warned that a further breakdown of civil order in the area would make it “extremely difficult, if not impossible” to provide further assistance.
“Most people in Gaza felt abandoned. They feel that the world equates them all with Hamas. This is dangerous – an entire population is being dehumanized. Hamas’ atrocities do not release the State of Israel from its obligations under international humanitarian law. Every war has rules and this one is no exception,” he said.
A senior U.N. aid official, Lisa Doughten, said more than one border crossing was needed to bring aid into the besieged Gaza Strip, but Kerem Shalom, which is controlled by Israel, was the only one equipped to receive sufficient trucks .
Last week, aid trucks from Egypt entered Gaza through Rafah, the main crossing that does not border Israel.
“More than one entry point into Gaza is essential if we want to make a difference – Kerem Shalom between Israel and Gaza is the only border crossing equipped to quickly process a sufficient number of trucks.”