07/07/2023 July 7, 2023, NY, USA: United Nations, New York, USA, July 7, 2023 – Martin Griffiths, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, briefs reporters on today's current humanitarian challenges at the United Nations Headquarters in New York. Photo: Luiz Rampelotto/EuropaNewswire POLITICS Europe Press/Contact/Luiz Rampelotto
The head of the United Nations' humanitarian affairs department, Martin Griffiths, has again called for a ceasefire in the conflict between Israel and Hamas during an intervention before the organization's Security Council and called for the adoption of “urgent measures” to end the war in the Gaza Strip. “I reiterate my call for a ceasefire. Above all, I ask the Council once again to take urgent action to put an end to this war,” Griffiths said this Friday, describing the conflict that began on October 7 as “a blot on the world.” collective consciousness”. In this context, the director of the UN emergency agency lamented that “the situation remains serious given the ongoing relentless Israeli military operations.” “We can see it in the tens of thousands of people killed and injured, the vast majority women and children. We can see it in the forced displacement of 1.9 million civilians, a shocking 85 percent of the total population, traumatized and forced to flee “again and again as bombs and rockets rain down,” explained the United Nations representative. With this in mind, Griffiths has on “the terrible conditions on the ground” as “shelters are overcrowded and food and water are running out,” resulting in “the risk of famine increasing day by day.” “What has been happening for almost 100 days in Israel and “What is happening in the occupied Palestinian territories is a war waged with almost no regard for the impact on the civilian population,” denounced the UN humanitarian chief and warned: “If we do not act, it will be like this.” be an indelible sign of our humanity. “People will continue to suffer and die from the bombing, and more and more people will also die from hunger and disease. We cannot allow this to happen,” Griffiths concluded. The death toll from Israel's offensive against the Gaza Strip following attacks by the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) on October 7 has risen to over 23,700, according to the latest tally by the Palestinian-controlled Gaza authorities.