NEW YORK – A senior UN official informed the
Security Council that at least 576,000 people in Gaza, equivalent to a quarter
of the population, are one step away from famine. The occurrence of widespread
famine is almost inevitable unless action is taken, Al-Mamlaka TV reported.
Ramesh Rajasingham, Director of Coordination of the UN Office
for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), emphasized the following
points:
- Achieving
any meaningful progress remains unlikely due to ongoing hostilities and
the potential for their spread to densely populated areas in southern
Gaza. Therefore, we reiterate our call for a ceasefire.
- One
out of every six children under the age of two in northern Gaza suffers
from severe malnutrition and wasting.
- The
entire population of the Gaza Strip, totaling 2.3 million people, relies
on food assistance that is "grossly inadequate" for survival.
- The
UN and relief organizations face immense obstacles in delivering even the
minimum essential supplies to Gaza.
- These
obstacles include border closures, restrictions on movement and
communication, cumbersome audit procedures, damaged roads, and unexploded
ordnance.
اضافة اعلان
Additionally, Carl Skau, the World Food Program's (WFP) Deputy
Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer, addressed the Security Council,
stating that the program is "ready to expand our operations and increase
their scale rapidly if a ceasefire agreement is reached. However, the risk of
famine worsens due to the inability to bring vital food supplies to Gaza in
sufficient quantities, compounded by the near-impossible working conditions
faced by our staff on the ground."
Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett, Guyana's Permanent Representative to
the UN, emphasized that "using starvation as a method of warfare is
illegal," and Guyana condemns those who deliberately employ it as a tool
against Gaza's population.
Echoing Guyana's stance, Algeria's Ambassador to the UN, Amar
Belani, asserted to the Security Council that "the aggression against Gaza
is not a war against Hamas but collective punishment imposed on the Palestinian
people."
Jonathan Miller, the deputy Israeli ambassador to the UN,
asserted that Israel is committed to improving the humanitarian situation in
Gaza. He added that the restrictions imposed on the quantity and pace of aid
depend on the capacity of the UN and other agencies.
"Israel has been clear in its policies. There is no limit
whatsoever, and I repeat, there is no limit to the amount of humanitarian aid that can be sent to civilians in Gaza," Miller told the Security Council.
However, Robert Wood, the Deputy US Ambassador at the UN,
stated, "Israel must do more." As Israel's ally, the US urged it to
keep border crossings open for the delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza and
facilitate the opening of additional crossings.
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