United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres told the UN Security Council Friday that two months into Israel’s war against Gaza “we are at a breaking point,” and urged members to push for an immediate humanitarian cease-fire, but the United States used again its veto to prevent the council from demanding the urgent needed stop in the attacks. Meanwhile, UN leaders says the situation in the tiny enclave is apocalyptic and there is a severe risk of collapse of the humanitarian system.
Humanitarian organizations are unable to operate effectively and safely under the current conditions as attacks by the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) continue, killing hundreds of civilians and displacing ten of thousands every day. More than 2.2 million people in the Gaza Strip are desperate to find food, water, shelter and safety amid relentless bombardments and ground operations.
Palestinians living in the Gaza Strip are living in catastrophic conditions. Supply of aid is severely restricted by Israel, and not even a fraction of what is needed can be delivered. The only hope for civilian lives to be protected and for adequate humanitarian assistance to be provided would be for the fighting to stop.
“The people of Gaza are looking into the abyss,” Guterres said. “The international community must do everything possible to end their ordeal.”
Israel's air and ground military operations in Gaza have killed more than 17,400 Palestinians, including at least 7,700 children and more than 5,100 women. More than 46,000 people have been injured and more than 7,600 people have been reported missing and may be still trapped dead or alive under the rubble.
Across the Gaza Strip, more than 1.9 million people - 85 percent of Gaza’s population - are believed to be displaced by the fighting and Israeli evacuation orders. About 1.2 million of them are sheltering in 156 severely overcrowded UN installations. Nearly two in three residences are now damaged or destroyed.
“The people of Gaza are being told to move like human pinballs — ricocheting between ever-smaller slivers of the south, without any of the basics for survival — but nowhere in Gaza is safe,” he said, warning that Palestinians in Gaza are at serious risk of starvation and famine while health care is collapsing.
Guterres said there is “a severe risk of collapse of the humanitarian system in Gaza.”
That would have devastating consequences, including a complete breakdown of public order and increased pressure for mass displacement into Egypt.
“The conditions for the effective delivery of humanitarian aid no longer exist,” he said.
Guterres also emphasized the complete lack of safety and security for UN staff and the intensity of military operations. At least 134 UN staff have been killed by IDF attacks, many with their families.
"This is the largest single loss of life in the history of our organization," the Secretary-General told the Council Friday in a briefing on the situation. He renewed his appeal for the council to take action and push for an immediate humanitarian cease-fire to save civilian lives and get aid into Gaza.
He also has warned that the situation could spill over in an already fragile and conflict-ridden region, drawing neighbors into a bigger conflagration.
"I fear the consequences could be devastating for the security of the entire region," he said.
The 15-nation Security Council met several times Friday after Guterres wrote to them Wednesday invoking Article 99 of the UN Charter, which empowers him to bring to the council any matter he believes may threaten international peace and security.
While the Security Council has been discussing the Gaza conflict, internal divisions have largely prevented it from taking any meaningful action. Guterres’ invocation of Article 99 is a way for him to press for the need for immediate action.
On Wednesday, Guterres invoked Article 99, a rarely used clause in the UN Charter, to warn the Security Council that the situation between Israel and Hamas could negatively affect international peace and security. The Sectary-General invoked Article 99 for the first time in his nearly seven-year tenure because of the "appalling human suffering, physical destruction and collective trauma across Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory," he said in a letter to the 15-nation council.
“Amid constant bombardment by the Israel Defense Forces, and without shelter or the essentials to survive, I expect public order to completely break down soon due to the desperate conditions, rendering even limited humanitarian assistance impossible,” Guterres wrote in the letter.
“An even worse situation could unfold, including epidemic diseases and increased pressure for mass displacement into neighboring countries,” he added.
The UN Charter was signed in 1945 and is the foundation of the organization. Article 99 says, "The Secretary-General may bring to the attention of the Security Council any matter which in his opinion may threaten the maintenance of international peace and security." It is intended to raise the alarm to prevent a brewing crisis from spiraling out of control.
The last time Article 99 was explicitly invoked was in 1971, during fighting that led to the creation of Bangladesh and its separation from Pakistan. In several other instances, Guterres and his predecessors have used language similar to Article 99 without directly invoking it.
The Security Council reconvened later Friday to vote on a draft resolution circulated by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on behalf of a group of Arab and Muslim nations. Nearly a hundred UN member states co-sponsored the short text. It called for an immediate humanitarian cease-fire, the release of all hostages and humanitarian access.
The Palestinian envoy made an impassioned appeal to council members to support it.
“There is no role more important for this council than to save civilian lives - 2.3 million Palestinians are fighting for their lives as we speak every single day,” Ambassador Riyad Mansour said. “Save them! Tell them! Show them help is on the way!”
But the United States used its veto to block the measure. Britain abstained. The council’s other 13 members supported the text, but it failed due to the US veto. The US veto against the draft resolution was widely condemned and described as unethical and inhumane.
UAE Deputy Ambassador Mohamed Abushahab said it was regrettable that in the face of untold misery, the council was unable to demand a humanitarian cease-fire.
“Let me be clear: Against the backdrop of the Secretary-General’s grave warnings, the appeals by humanitarian actors, the world’s public opinion – this council grows isolated,” he said.
Palestinian envoy Mansour said the council’s failure to demand a cease-fire would have dangerous consequences.
“Hundreds of people will be killed by this time tomorrow. Then hundreds more. And then thousands,” Mansour said. “Children will be killed. Orphaned. Wounded. Disabled for life.”
Aid organizations and human rights groups criticized Washington’s action strongly.
“The US administration, standing alone to veto a cease-fire, puts another nail in the coffin for US credibility on matters of human rights,” said Abby Maxman, Oxfam America's president and CEO.
“Once again the US used its veto to prevent the Security Council from making some of the calls the US itself has been demanding of Israel and Palestinian armed groups, including compliance with international humanitarian law, protection of civilians, and releasing all civilians held hostage,” said Louis Charbonneau, UN director at Human Rights Watch.
“By continuing to provide Israel with weapons and diplomatic cover as it commits atrocities, including collectively punishing the Palestinian civilian population in Gaza, the US risks complicity in war crimes," he warned.
After the vote, a group of leading humanitarian non-governmental organizations (NGOs) said they were appalled at the failure of the UN Security Council to authorize a resolution demanding a humanitarian ceasefire and unconditional release of hostages held in Gaza.
“If implemented, this would have provided much needed respite for civilians in Gaza, who are under constant bombardment. This was a missed opportunity to stop the violence”, the NGOs said in a joint statement.
"We are two months into the crisis and complete siege of Gaza. Gaza is now the deadliest place for civilians in the world. Nowhere is safe. Humanitarians are unable to operate effectively and safely under the current conditions."
The statement was signed by Action Against Hunger, CARE International, Mercy Corps, Norwegian Refugee Council, Oxfam International, Plan International and Save the Children International.
"Supply of aid is severely restricted, and not even a fraction of what is needed. The only way for civilian lives to be protected and for adequate humanitarian assistance to be provided is for the fighting to stop," the statement said.
In Gaza, people do not have access to food and water. The healthcare system has collapsed, attacks on hospitals have left much of Gaza’s population without access to any treatment. The outbreak of disease is threatening lives even further.
“We need to reach people now. It is unjustifiable that Security Council members would veto a resolution calling for a halt to fighting when the humanitarian case for a ceasefire is so clear. (…) Council members cannot ignore the horrific conditions in Gaza. Action must be guided by the urgent humanitarian imperative to stop fighting, rather than politics,” the NGOs said.
The humanitarian organizations called on the UN Security Council to urgently reconvene and pass a resolution, which demands a sustained ceasefire, for parties to the conflict to uphold their obligations under international law and to create the conditions needed to enable humanitarian aid to reach civilians.
On October 7, Palestinian armed groups in Gaza, including fighters from the militant Hamas group, launched thousands of rockets toward Israel and breached through a perimeter fence of Gaza at multiple locations. Members of armed groups entered into Israeli towns, communities, and military facilities near the Gaza Strip, killing and capturing Israeli forces and civilians.
More than 1,200 Israelis and foreign nationals, most of them civilians, were reportedly killed and more than 5,400 injured, most of them on October 7. Some 240 people, including Israelis and foreign nationals, were held hostage in Gaza. More than 100 of the Israeli hostages have since been released, most of them during a weeklong truce agreement between Israel and Hamas.
Two months ago, the humanitarian situation of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip drastically deteriorated following attacks by the Israeli military. The merciless attacks by the IDF and the blockade imposed on Gaza by the Israeli government has led to a humanitarian catastrophe for the people of the tiny enclave.
Humanitarian organizations, human rights organizations, and legal experts have said that the killing of thousands of innocent children and women, the siege on an entire civilian population, and the trapping of bombarded civilians behind closed borders in Gaza are crimes under international law. They demand accountability for the crimes committed against civilians in Gaza, from political and military leaders as well as those who provided arms and political or other support.
Some information for this report provided by VOA.
Further information
Full text: UN Security Council must reconvene and pass resolution for ceasefire – Aid agencies, statement, Action Against Hunger, CARE International, Mercy Corps, Norwegian Refugee Council, Oxfam International, Plan International and Save the Children International, published December 8, 2023
https://www.savethechildren.net/news/un-security-council-must-reconvene-and-pass-resolution-ceasefire-aid-agencies
Full text: The Secretary-General letter to the Security Council invoking Article 99 of the United Nations Charter, United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, released December 6, 2023
https://www.ochaopt.org/content/secretary-general-letter-security-council-invoking-article-99-united-nations-charter