UN Chief Condemns Global Indifference to Palestinian Suffering in Gaza
'I cannot explain the level of indifference and inaction we see from too many in the international community,' Guterres stated. He emphasized the 'lack of compassion, the lack of truth, and the lack of humanity' in response to the ongoing crisis. He vowed to continue speaking out at every opportunity. Rising Starvation Rates
Aid organizations have reported alarming increases in starvation cases, particularly among children, in war-torn Gaza. Israel imposed an aid blockade in March amid its ongoing conflict with Hamas, which has exacerbated the humanitarian situation. Although the blockade eased two months later, the flow of aid remains limited.
The Israeli- and US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation now controls aid distribution, replacing the long-standing UN-led system. This shift has raised concerns among various humanitarian groups.
International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) President Mirjana Spoljaric stated, 'There is no excuse for what is happening in Gaza.' She highlighted the overwhelming scale of human suffering and the erosion of human dignity, which have surpassed all acceptable legal and moral standards.
Spoljaric noted that the ICRC has over 350 staff members in Gaza, many of whom struggle to find sufficient food and clean water. Aid organizations and the United Nations have refused to collaborate with the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, accusing it of supporting Israeli military objectives. Urgent Need for Action
Guterres condemned the 7 October, 2023, attack by Hamas on southern Israel, which triggered the current conflict. However, he asserted that 'nothing can justify the explosion of death and destruction since.' He remarked, 'The scale and scope are beyond anything we have seen in recent times.'
Children in Gaza express a desire to 'go to heaven' because they believe there is food there. Guterres shared that humanitarian workers face starvation while trying to assist others. 'But words don't feed hungry children,' he lamented.
He also condemned the deaths of over 1,000 Palestinians attempting to access food aid since May 27, when the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation began operations. A Call for Ceasefire and Humanitarian Access
'We need action: an immediate and permanent ceasefire, the unconditional release of all hostages, and unimpeded humanitarian access,' Guterres urged. He added that the United Nations stands ready to 'dramatically scale up humanitarian operations' in Gaza if Israel and Hamas agree to a ceasefire.
The world must respond to this crisis with urgency and compassion, as the lives of countless individuals hang in the balance.
Short link :
Post Views: 16
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Al Arabiya
an hour ago
- Al Arabiya
Israeli settlers attack Christian West Bank village
Israeli settlers attacked the Christian Palestinian village of Taybeh in the occupied West Bank, torching cars and spray-painting threatening graffiti, the Palestinian Authority said Monday. 'Israeli colonial settlers launched a terror attack tonight on the Christian Palestinian village of Taybeh (Ramallah), setting fire to Palestinian vehicles and spray-painting racist threats in Hebrew on homes and property,' the Ramallah-based authority wrote on X. A Taybeh resident, speaking anonymously for safety reasons, told AFP the attack occurred at about 2:00 am (2300 GMT), with at least two vehicles burned. They said one vehicle belonged to a journalist, while noting the damage appeared to target Palestinian property broadly. A photo shared by a Palestinian government agency on X showed graffiti on a Taybeh wall that read: 'Al-Mughayyir, you will regret,' referring to a nearby village that was also attacked by settlers earlier this year. The Palestinian Authority's foreign ministry condemned the attack, calling it 'settler terrorism.' Germany's ambassador to Israel, Steffen Seibert, also condemned it, writing on X: 'These extremist settlers may claim that God gave them the land. But they are nothing but criminals abhorrent to any faith.' Taybeh and its surroundings have experienced several bouts of settler violence in recent months, including an arson attack at an ancient Byzantine church. The village – home to about 1,300 mostly Christian Palestinians, many holding US dual citizenship – is known for its brewery, the oldest in the Palestinian territories. Settlers have attacked neighboring communities in recent months, resulting in three deaths, damage to Palestinian water wells and the displacement of at least one rural herding community. Israel has occupied the West Bank since 1967. The territory is home to about three million Palestinians and around 700,000 Israeli settlers, including about 200,000 in east Jerusalem. Last week, 71 members of Israel's 120-seat parliament, or Knesset, passed a motion calling on the government to annex the West Bank.
Al Arabiya
an hour ago
- Al Arabiya
Hunger must never be ‘weapon of war': Guterres
United Nations chief Antonio Guterres urged the international community on Monday to reject hunger as a weapon of war. UN agencies have been warning of life-threatening hunger in Gaza as aid supplies dried up, and international pressure has been building for a ceasefire to allow a massive relief operation. Israel's government, under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, furiously denies that it is using hunger as a weapon of war, and instead accuses the aid agencies of failing to pick up and distribute aid delivered to Gaza's border crossing points. 'Climate change is disrupting harvests, supply chains, and humanitarian aid. Conflict continues to spread hunger from Gaza to Sudan and beyond,' Guterres told a UN conference in Ethiopia by video. 'Hunger fuels instability and undermines peace. We must never accept hunger as a weapon of war,' the UN chief added said. In the Gaza Strip, the war-shattered Palestinian territory is gripped by dire humanitarian conditions created by 21 months of war and made worse by Israel's total blockade of aid from March to May. Since the easing of the blockade, the levels of aid reaching Gaza have been far below what aid groups say is needed. On Sunday, as Israel began a 'tactical pause' in the fighting to allow the UN and aid agencies to tackle a deepening hunger crisis, the World Health Organization warned that malnutrition was reaching 'alarming levels.' Sudan is 'the largest humanitarian catastrophe facing our world and also the least remembered,' Othman Belbeisi, the regional director of UN's IOM migration agency, told reporters last week. Since April 2023, Sudan has been torn apart by a power struggle between army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, commander of the rival paramilitary Rapid Support Forces. The fighting has killed tens of thousands and displaced more than seven million people.
Al Arabiya
2 hours ago
- Al Arabiya
Israel says over 120 aid trucks delivered to Gaza in first day of partial pause
Israel said Monday that more than 120 truckloads of food aid were distributed by the UN and aid agencies in the Gaza Strip on the first day of a partial pause in fighting. On Sunday, Israel declared a 'tactical' pause in military operations in part of Gaza and promised to open secure routes for aid, urging humanitarian groups to step up food distribution. 'Over 120 trucks were collected and distributed yesterday by the UN and international organizations,' COGAT, an Israeli defense ministry agency overseeing civilian affairs in the Palestinian territories, said in a post on X on Monday.
