Special coordinator tells UN aid in Gaza is ‘not negotiable’
The UN Security Council is holding its monthly open briefing and closed consultations on the situation in the Middle East, including the situation in Gaza.
Sigrid Kaag, special coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process ad interim, said “aid cannot be negotiable and there cannot be a question of forced displacement”.
“Humanitarian aid and assistance need to urgently reach all people in Gaza,” she said. “Forced displacement of civilians must be rejected and prevented as per international law. Palestinians should be supported to stay on their land.”
Kaag warned that the international community needs to pivot “from declarations to decisions”.
“Peace cannot be a transaction or a partial temporary arrangement,” she added. “Durable security cannot be achieved solely through force. It must be built on mutual recognition, justice and rights for all.”
US representative calls on UN to work with GHF in Gaza
John Kelley, the alternate US representative at the UN, has called on the international body to work with the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which he says is an “independent” institution established to “provide a secure mechanism for the delivery of aid to those in need”.
“We call on the UN to work with the GHF and Israel to reach an agreement on how to operationalise this system in a way that works for all,” he said. “One that provides the opportunity to deliver aid directly to civilians without diversions to Hamas and other terrorist and criminal groups.”
“The council should apply pressure to free Palestinians of Hamas’s tyranny,” he told the UN Security Council. “The United States fully stands behind Israel and its right to defend itself. In order to move forward, Hamas must be defeated.”
The comments come after a second day of chaotic scenes in southern Gaza as desperate Palestinians try to access aid through the US-backed model. Several Palestinians were killed by Israeli gunfire as they rushed to get aid today.
Nothing but bullshit. The ethnic cleansing plan by starvation is as clear as day. Lure people into concentration camps in the South while bombing remaining food kitchens and supplies, as well as targeting people looking for food.
And then? There is nothing in the areas where the GHF distribution points are set up. The IDF flattened the entire area. No water, no shelter, no sanitation, it's worse than a concentration camp.
The only reason to lure people there it to either deport them or slowly kill them.
