The Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs of United Nations, Martin Griffiths reiterated this Friday the importance of humanitarian breaks to respond to the “immense needs”. the people of Gaza and regretted that the results achieved in the negotiations were “not sufficient”.
“Negotiations must continue, but they are not enough. We have to take these breaks,” demanded Griffiths, referring to the much-discussed humanitarian ceasefire. “If we don’t take breaks, we can’t meet people’s needs Ribbon and the Israelis who are also trapped in these conflict areas,” he assured.
The negotiations, the head of the UN Department of Humanitarian Affairs made clear, “no matter how detailed and important they are, they are not working.” “We are not living up to the progress toward devastation that is happening in Gaza today.”. In this sense, it reiterated the commitment to respecting humanitarian law, which includes the protection of civilians and civilian infrastructure – including humanitarian workers and their facilities – and the unconditional release of all hostages and the entry of essential goods into Gaza, such as z as fuel and humanitarian aid.
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“Civilians continue to have the right to protection regardless of whether they remain or move , and they have the right to choose. And anyone who does not evacuate should not automatically be considered a supporter of the enemy or a target of an attack,” he emphasized.
Griffiths has since condemned that “what we have seen in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories over the last 26 days is nothing short of a plague on our collective conscience.” “We’re all involved in this in some way.”
“Much more is needed”
Other senior UN officials agreed at a briefing in New York this Friday that while political negotiations on providing aid to Gaza have produced results, “much more is needed, including…” humanitarian ceasefires v
So far, 329 trucks have entered the Gaza Strip through the Rafah border crossing to provide aid, according to a United Nations statement, which said that even before the conflict an average of 500 trucks were needed.
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In this sense, the UN coordinator for humanitarian aid in the Middle East, Lynn Hastings, had already pointed this out “Access to food is increasingly a problem” and that “people are defying the airstrikes and lining up to get bread in front of bakeries, some of which are already closed due to lack of fuel.”
In this situation, he stressed the need to accelerate the pace of aid deliveries, stressing that a humanitarian ceasefire would not only “alleviate the enormous human suffering” experienced in Gaza, but would do so would make “humanitarian access easier and safer.”
For his part, the director of affairs for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), Thomas White, criticized that “this is the reality”. “They can’t even” provide “security under a UN flag” to Gaza’s civilian population. and he echoed Hastings’ words, emphasizing that “humanitarian aid is not the only solution, as the public and private sectors in Gaza must also function.”
“We need regular humanitarian supplies and sustainable and shared access with the public and private sectors,” he explained, adding that they want a ceasefire “now.”
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Problems beyond Gaza
That same Friday, UNRWA Commissioner General Philippe Lazzarini predicted that this organization “will soon be incapable of functioning unless decisive action is taken now.” He has also warned that “hunger, desperation and feelings of abandonment in Gaza may be reflected in anger against the international community.” “Issues that extend far beyond the borders of the Gaza Strip.”
In this context, Lazzarini initially called for an immediate agreement on urgent measures strict compliance with international humanitarian law This includes an immediate humanitarian ceasefire and a continuous and secure flow of aid, as other United Nations organizations have also called for.
“Now more than ever, I urge Member States to get involved, be brave and find something concrete solutions to ensure a stable and predictable UNRWA “continue to be the international community’s greatest asset in the region,” he concluded, then highlighted the agency’s chronic lack of funding and the need to have sufficient financial resources.
Next week, aid workers will release an updated urgent appeal for the occupied Palestinian territories. They estimate that they will have needs $1.2 billion to meet needs the entire population of Gaza and 500,000 people in the West Bank by the end of the year.