<\/p>\n
9891st Meeting (PM)<\/p>\n
03 April 2025<\/p>\n
Following the recent discovery of a mass grave in Gaza \u2014 in which the bodies of 15 humanitarian workers were interred \u2014 the United Nations human-rights Chief warned the Security Council today of a high and increasing risk that atrocity crimes are being committed in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am appalled by the recent killing of 15 medical personnel and humanitarian aid workers, which raise further concerns over the commission of war crimes by the Israeli military,\u201d said Volker T\u00fcrk, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.\u00a0 Additionally, he observed that the temporary relief granted by the ceasefire \u201chas been shattered\u201d.\u00a0 According to the Ministry of Health in Gaza, Israeli military operations have killed more than 1,200 Palestinians, including at least 320 children, since 1\u00a0March.\u00a0Bombardments of residential buildings, tents, hospitals and schools continue, including places where Palestinians have been ordered to move.<\/p>\n
Pointing out that a month has passed since the Israeli military imposed a complete blockade on vital aid and supplies to Gaza, he underscored:\u00a0\u201cThe blockade and siege imposed on Gaza amount to collective punishment and may also amount to the use of starvation as a method of war.\u201d\u00a0 He also noted that, as of 1\u00a0April, the World Food Programme (WFP) shut its 25 bakeries in Gaza \u2014 leaving many without access to bread \u2014 and he spotlighted a \u201creturn to the breakdown of social order that preceded the ceasefire\u201d.\u00a0 Additionally, he said that inflammatory rhetoric by senior Israeli officials regarding seizing, dividing and controlling territory \u201craises grave concerns about the commission of international crimes\u201d.<\/p>\n
Further noting that the situation in the West Bank is \u201cextremely alarming\u201d, he said that the announcement that residents must not return to their homes for a year \u201craises serious concerns about long-term mass displacement\u201d.\u00a0 While \u201cnothing can justify\u201d the horrific attacks committed on 7\u00a0October\u00a02023, he stressed that the same is true for the collective punishment of the Palestinian people.\u00a0 Urging immediate restoration of the ceasefire in Gaza, he warned:\u00a0 \u201cThere is a high and increasing risk that atrocity crimes are being committed in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMany appalling records have been broken in this war,\u201d observed Younes Al-Khatib, President of the Palestine Red Crescent Society.\u00a0 The war on Gaza, he said, has seen the greatest number of aid workers killed in any conflict.\u00a0 Recently, a mission coordinated by the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs uncovered a mass grave, where 15 first responders \u2014 including eight Palestine Red Crescent Society paramedics, six civil-defence members and one Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ officer \u2014 were buried.\u00a0 \u201cThey were killed while on mission to save lives,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Noting the Society\u2019s documentation of the mission\u2019s timeline, as well as dispatch communications and what one team \u201chad witnessed when they went back to the scene\u201d, he added that Asad Al-Nasasra, a Society member, had reported that his team was being fired upon and that several colleagues were injured.\u00a0 He is still missing.\u00a0 \u201cWe call on the Israeli occupation forces to provide information on his fate,\u201d he urged.\u00a0Also calling for a thorough investigation and the immediate resumption of aid delivery, he added:\u00a0 \u201cWe call on the Security Council \u2014 and on the whole international community \u2014 to spare no effort to return to the ceasefire.\u201d<\/p>\n
As the floor opened, the representative of Algeria noted that, earlier today, Israeli air strikes targeted a school sheltering displaced people, killing dozens of civilians.\u00a0 On 2\u00a0April \u2014 yesterday \u2014 the bombing of a United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵRWA) clinic killed 22 others.\u00a0 \u201cThe surge of bodies after this massacre has been heartbreaking, with children identified only by their clothes,\u201d he said \u2014 a red blouse for one, brown for another.\u00a0He emphasized the result if the Council does not act:\u00a0 \u201cThe world \u2014 our constituency \u2014 will no longer respect neither the Council nor its deliberations\u201d.<\/p>\n
Others felt similarly.\u00a0 The representative of Pakistan, recalling the Council\u2019s many meetings on this issue, nevertheless observed that the Palestinian people \u201care left questioning whether this body will take meaningful steps, or merely lament their suffering\u201d.\u00a0 He added:\u00a0\u201cOur failure not only undermines this institution, but also erodes the international order based on the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ Charter.\u201d\u00a0Sierra Leone\u2019s representative underscored that \u201crespect for international law is not optional\u201d, stressing that settler violence is part of a broader crisis that must be addressed immediately.<\/p>\n
Guyana\u2019s representative pointed to the risk of \u201ctotal collapse of international law in the region if the Council does not find the collective will\u201d to uphold the rule of that law.\u00a0 She therefore called on the organ to address the \u201canomaly in Palestine\u201d, where the occupying Power inflicts immense hardship on Palestinians with no accountability.\u00a0 \u201cContinued impunity for grave violations against Palestinian civilians undermines the credibility of the international system,\u201d stressed the representative of Somalia.\u00a0 Going further, he said:\u00a0 \u201cThe international community\u2019s silence on what is happening in the Occupied Palestinian Territory is a disgrace to humanity.\u201d<\/p>\n
The representative of Slovenia, deploring the erosion of humanity in Gaza, also condemned Israeli attacks on humanitarian workers.\u00a0 \u201cWe cannot choose to believe these were simply mistakes,\u201d he said, underscoring that \u201cintentionally directing attacks against personnel involved in a humanitarian-assistance mission is a war crime and must be prosecuted accordingly\u201d.\u00a0 China\u2019s representative, on the \u201cshocking\u201d 23\u00a0March killing of 15 humanitarian workers, pointed out that their bodies were later found in a mass grave, close to damaged vehicles with humanitarian markings.\u00a0 Underscoring the need for accountability, he also opposed the use of humanitarian aid as a bargaining chip.<\/p>\n
Similarly, Denmark\u2019s representative stressed:\u00a0\u201cHumanitarian assistance must never be used as a political tool.\u201d\u00a0 She also expressed support for an independent investigation into the killing of Red Crescent staff, observing that this is the third time \u201cwithin less than a week\u201d that the Council debates the protection of humanitarian personnel.\u00a0The United Kingdom\u2019s representative said that the killing of Red Crescent medics was \u201can outrage\u201d, underscoring the need for accountability and for Israel to respect deconfliction notifications from aid workers.\u00a0 And, while stating that the remaining Israeli hostages must be released, she opposed Israel\u2019s decision to resume military operations in Gaza.<\/p>\n
Despite Israel\u2019s declaration of its intent to target Hamas operatives, \u201cthe clear fact\u201d is that the majority of those killed are innocent civilians \u2014 including children and humanitarian workers \u2014 said the representative of the Republic of Korea.\u00a0 And, while \u201cHamas\u2019 refusal to an immediate and unconditional release of hostages is unconscionable\u201d, he stressed that \u201cthis does not legitimize the blocking of humanitarian aid\u201d.\u00a0 The representative of France, Council President for April, spoke in his national capacity to urge the release of hostages.\u00a0 Nevertheless, he also called for an inquiry into the unacceptable attacks on the Palestine Red Crescent Society in Gaza.<\/p>\n
The ambulances involved in that incident were all clearly marked, noted the representative of the Russian Federation.\u00a0 Also spotlighting a 2\u00a0April Israeli strike on an Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵRWA medical centre serving as a shelter for more than 700 people, he said:\u00a0\u201cHope for the situation changing for the better is almost non-existent.\u201d\u00a0 Greece\u2019s representative said that his delegation was \u201cparticularly troubled\u201d by continued attacks on Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ premises, including that incident.\u00a0 He also joined others in condemning increased settlement activity in the West Bank, as well as Hamas\u2019 ongoing detention and cruel treatment of its hostages.<\/p>\n
The representative of the United States, meanwhile, said that Hamas is solely responsible for the resumption of hostilities, and that using civilians to shield military operations violates international humanitarian law.\u00a0 Every death, she stressed \u2014 including those discussed today \u2014 would have been avoided had Hamas accepted the \u201cbridge\u201d proposal on the table in March.\u00a0 Panama\u2019s representative, for his part, appealed to all actors to protect humanitarian workers and joined others in urging a return to ceasefire.<\/p>\n
After Council members had their say, the Permanent Observer for the State of Palestine underscored:\u00a0 \u201cEnough occupation, enough wars \u2014 we need a ceasefire now.\u201d\u00a0 Israel not only completely blocks humanitarian aid but also ensures that civilians are denied all assistance.\u00a0 Pointing to the recent execution of Red Crescent workers, bombing of an Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵRWA clinic and strike against a school-turned-shelter in Gaza City, he stated that Israel wants to make clear that \u201cthe only alternative to death is displacement out of Gaza\u201d.\u00a0 Israel\u2019s objective, he stressed, is not releasing the hostages \u2014 it is \u201cstealing Palestinian land\u201d.<\/p>\n
Israel\u2019s representative then stated: \u201cThis war will not end until the 59 remaining innocent hostages are released and Hamas is driven from Gaza.\u201d\u00a0 He also said that the same pattern unfolds every time the Council convenes to address the situation in Gaza: \u201cHamas commits an atrocity, Israel takes action to defend ourselves and, somehow, the story that gets told in this room is upside-down.\u201d\u00a0 On the \u201cincident\u201d that occurred on 23 March involving the Red Crescent, he said that active Hamas terrorists were present inside those vehicles.\u00a0 He added: \u201cThere is no ceasefire agreement that can hold while innocent people remain in captivity.\u201d<\/p>\n
The representative of Libya, speaking for the Arab Group, said that the crisis has reached its peak, and making statements and \u201cselecting words\u201d is of no use.\u00a0 The massacre of Red Crescent aid workers was committed deliberately, and then their bodies were thrown into a mass grave to cover up the crime.\u00a0 Stressing that the occupying Power is committing genocide, he underlined the need for a ceasefire and the subsequent delivery of humanitarian aid into Gaza.\u00a0 Further, he warned Council members against becoming \u201caccomplices\u201d in the suffering of the Palestinian people.<\/p>\n
As the meeting drew to a close, the observer for the State of Palestine and the representative of Israel each took the floor two additional times to address the other directly.\u00a0 \u201cWe are not your enemy \u2014 your enemies are Hamas,\u201d stressed the latter, while the former stated:\u00a0 \u201cWe don\u2019t have a partner for peace from your side.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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