Situation in Gaza a ‘human catastrophe’: Pentagon chief
Pentagon boss Lloyd Austin, speaking at the start of the meeting with Israeli Defence Minister Gallant, says it’s a moral and strategic imperative to protect Palestinian civilians.
Austin called the situation in Gaza a “human catastrophe”. Since October 7, more than 32,000 people have killed in the coastal enclave.
The meeting went ahead even though Israel abruptly canceled the visit of a high-level delegation to Washington in protest over Monday’s UN Security Council decision calling for an immediate ceasefire. The US abstained, deciding not to use its veto power, and the resolution passed 14-0.
UN Middle East coordinator says humanitarian impact in Gaza ‘cataclysmic’
The UN’s special coordinator for the Middle East peace process, Tor Wennesland, spoke to the UN as he presented a quarterly report on the implementation of Resolution 2334 concerning illegal Israeli settlements in Palestinian territories occupied since 1967, including East Jerusalem.
He noted:
- Resolution 2334 demands that affirmative steps be taken to immediately reverse steps on the ground that are imperilling the two-state solution. But negative trends continue.
- In total, some 4,780 units were advanced in the West Bank’s Area C … and the demolition and seizure of Palestinian property continues.
- The devastating conflict in Gaza goes on alongside violence in the West Bank. In Gaza, the humanitarian impact of the hostilities has been cataclysmic.
- The killing of civilians in the Gaza Strip is occurring at an unprecedented rate. At least 26 attacks against aid seekers have occurred at aid distribution points.
- Hospitals must not become battlefields and must be protected.
- Famine in the northern Gaza Strip is imminent.
- Nothing can justify the collective punishment of the Palestinian people.
Gaza ‘shattered humanity’s records for its darkest chapters’: UNICEF
UNICEF spokesperson James Elder’s words come as he returns from a visit to the war-torn enclave.
Following a UN resolution on Monday, “the ceasefire must be substantive, not symbolic. The hostages must go home. The people of Gaza must be allowed to live,” he said in a statement.
Elder described a catastrophic humanitarian situation in Rafah, where there is one toilet for every 850 people and one shower for every 3600 people. “This is a hellish disregard for basic human needs and dignity,” he said.
Khan Younis “barely exists anymore,” he said. “In my 20 years with the United Nations, I have never seen such devastation. Just chaos and ruin, with rubble and debris scattered in every single direction. Utter annihilation.”
In Jabalia, tens of thousands of people in the streets placed their hands to their mouths, “that universal sign for hunger”, as hundreds of trucks remained backlogged waiting to enter Gaza.
“Humanity must now urgently write a different chapter,” Elder said.
Amnesty says UN rapporteur’s findings must spur action to ‘prevent genocide’
Amnesty International has welcomed the new report by the UN special rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territory, which found there are “reasonable grounds to believe the threshold indicating Israel’s commission of genocide is met”.
“This is a crucial body of work that must serve as a vital call to action to states. They must uphold their obligations under the Genocide Convention and take concrete measures to protect Palestinians in Gaza today,” Amnesty International’s Secretary-General Agnes Callamard said in a statement.
“The time to act to prevent genocide is now.”
Callamard called on states to apply political pressure on the warring parties to implement the UN Security Council resolution adopted on Monday, which demands an immediate ceasefire. She said they must use their influence to get Israel to abide by the resolution, including stopping shelling and lifting restrictions on humanitarian aid.
She also called on all states to impose a comprehensive arms embargo against all parties to the conflict and to pressure Hamas and other armed groups to free all civilian captives.
‘Ruthless push for a final solution’: Pakistan back’s UN rapporteur
Earlier, we reported Francesca Albanese said Israel was characterising the entire Gaza population as “targetable, killable and destroyable”, and had ostentatiously laid bare its “genocidal intent” to “rid Palestine of Palestinians”.
Speaking for the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, Pakistan backed her demand for sanctions and an arms embargo against Israel. “We commend your courage in documenting the … acts amounting to genocide in Gaza,” Islamabad’s IOC representative said.
“The occupation force’s dangerous and ruthless push for a final solution to the Palestinian question is plain for all to see, as its forces encircle Rafah like vultures and its ravenous land grab continues unabated in the West Bank.”
Lot of words, it's time for action!
