US veto came with ‘an extremely heavy price’: Amnesty chief
Agnes Callamard, the head of human rights group Amnesty International, urged all parties to the conflict to implement the UN Security Council’s Gaza ceasefire resolution.
“The US had previously blocked multiple ceasefire resolutions, including by using its veto three times. Its shift is long overdue. With more than 37,000 Palestinians dead, amid a risk of genocide and an engineered famine, its stalling has come at an extremely heavy price,” Callamard said.
“The US must now use its influence to ensure this ceasefire becomes a reality. It must halt arms transfers to Israel and ensure that Israeli authorities allow unfettered humanitarian aid access throughout Gaza.”
The UN Security Council has adopted a long overdue US resolution to protect civilians, release civilian hostages and demand an end to eight months of bloodshed, unlawful attacks and mass humanitarian suffering in Gaza
The resolution must now be implemented immediately by all…
— Agnes Callamard (@AgnesCallamard) June 10, 2024
To be fair, the UNSC passed an immediate ceasefire resolution at the start of Ramadan. But without US support, or rather with continued US support for Israel it went completely ignored. And as Agnes Callamard said, it's now up to the US to pressure Israel into making this ceasefire a reality.
UN blames carnage from deadly Israeli raid for aid disruption
The UN World Food Programme earlier suspended aid deliveries to Gaza via a temporary US military pier to “assess the security situation”.
Stephane Dujarric, the spokesman for UN chief Antonio Guterres, linked the move to the Israeli assault that freed four captives. In the attack, 274 Palestinians were killed and 700 wounded, including many women and children.
“World Food Programme colleagues tell us that we are temporarily pausing operations at the floating dock until a thorough assessment of the security situation is conducted to ensure the safety of our staff and our partners,” said Dujarric.
“We’ve all seen what happened in Gaza over the weekend. We’ve seen some of the media reports. We’ve also taken note of very public statements by the US Central Command that the floating pier had not been used in the operation by the Israeli forces regarding the hostages,” he added.
“I think it’s only normal after such an operation takes place with such a large number of victims, that our humanitarian colleagues take a pause [and] look at the situation. And hopefully, it can be returned to use as quickly as possible from our end.”
‘No time to waste’ on truce deal as famine stalks Gaza population
Global charity Mercy Corp says now that the UN Security Council approved the ceasefire resolution, it must be “implemented fully and immediately” to save lives.
“There is no time to waste when over half of the population is on the verge of starving to death, and the rest facing catastrophic hunger,” said Kate Phillips-Barrasso, vice president of global policy and advocacy.
She said the people of Gaza have had everything taken from them and “can endure no more”.
“The events of this weekend in Nuseirat laid bare that nowhere and no one in Gaza is safe. The deal – if adhered to – would finally return the hostages to their families and ensure military actions to free them do not come at such a devastating and unacceptable civilian cost.
“A ceasefire will only turn the tide on this humanitarian catastrophe if it is permanent and the obstacles to aid delivery removed. The global community must ensure that this ceasefire is not just a temporary measure, but stops the fighting and paves the way for a sustained peace process.”
Israel is detaining more than 9,000 Palestinians: Prisoner rights group
According to the Palestinian Prisoner’s Society, 9,300 are currently in Israeli prisons.
This includes:
- 2,056 who have been sentenced
- 3,794 who are detained
- 3,450 who are in administrative detention (without charge or trial)
The numbers include 9,021 Palestinians from the occupied West Bank, 194 from the Gaza Strip (who are known to the rights group), and 85 from Israel proper.
