Rosemary DiCarlo, Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs, and Edem Wosornu, Director of Operations of the Humanitarian Coordination Division, OCHAwere informing ambassadors in the Security Councilagainst the backdrop of the recovery of the bodies of six hostages killed in Gaza and the polio vaccination campaign that started last weekend.
The emergency meeting was requested – separately – by both Algeria and Israel. According to media reports, Israel demanded that the council condemn Hamas in the strongest possible terms and address the dire situation of the hostages still held captive.
Algeria reportedly requested the meeting to discuss the deteriorating situation in Gaza and the West Bank.
Next month will mark the somber one-year anniversary of the October 7 terrorist attacks by Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups in southern Israel, killing more than 1,250 Israeli and foreign nationals and abducting about 250 and taking them to Gaza.
According to Gaza health authorities, at least 101 hostages, including some of the remains of people who have been declared dead, remain in Gaza. The Gaza Strip has been battered by a brutal Israeli military assault that has killed more than 41,000 Palestinians.
Heartbreaking news
Ms. DiCarlo recalled her meeting last November with the parents of Hersh Goldberg-Polin, one of the slain hostages.
She said that according to the Israeli government, the hostages were shot several times at close range and killed by Hamas just before Israeli soldiers could reach them in a tunnel in Rafah.
After the recovery of the bodies, Hamas announced that militants guarding the hostages in Gaza buildings and tunnels had received new instructions to kill the hostages before they could be rescued alive by Israeli forces, she added.
“I once again echo the words of the Secretary-General: all hostages must be released immediately and unconditionally.repeated Mrs. DiCarlo.
“While in detention, they must be treated humanely and be allowed to receive visits and assistance from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in accordance with international legal obligations.”
Ms. DiCarlo also provided an update on the situation in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, including the latest on large-scale Israeli military operations, settler attacks and Palestinian armed violence against Israelis.
‘No limits’ to brutality
During a briefing alongside Ms. DiCarlo, Ms. Wosornu highlighted the death and destruction in the Gaza Strip, stating: “the cruelty of this conflict seems to know no bounds.”
“We see this reflected in the many attacks on humanitarian workers: since October 7 (2023), 295 humanitarian workers have been killed,” she added.
Many humanitarian assets, including several UN vehicles, “have been directly hit in more than a dozen separate incidents, even though their movements had been reported,” she said.
Ms Wosornu outlined the consequences of this, including the restriction of the delivery of life-saving aid to those who need it most, such as the temporary suspension of staff movements by the UN World Food Programme (World Food Programme) after an attack on one of its convoys last week.
UN Photo/Manuel Elías
A broad overview of the Security Council meeting.
Polio pauses, rare glimmer of hope
Both UN officials welcomed the local humanitarian pauses, which allowed the emergency polio vaccination campaign to begin.
“The polio breaks are a rare glimmer of hope and humanity amid the horrors in Gaza” Ms. DiCarlo said, noting that the images of young children receiving their vaccinations amid total devastation “are both moving and harrowing.”
She added that agreements reached between UN agencies and the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) to pause military activities in designated vaccination areas “have been respected so far”.
Humanists remain
Ms Wosornu further noted that despite the overwhelming challenges, humanitarian workers remain on the ground and provide essential assistance, including food, shelter and protection, as best they can.
Food rations are being distributed, albeit in limited quantities: wheat flour is only given priority at the 14 bakeries supported by humanitarian organizations.
Tents are also being distributed, but these are insufficient to meet the needs of families who are repeatedly displaced, especially as cold and rainy weather approaches.
Make promises come true
She urged the Security Council:to fulfill his promises and end the suffering.”
“We once again call on the members of the Council and all Member States to achieve an immediate cessation of hostilities and a lasting ceasefire in Gaza and to de-escalate the situation in the West Bank,” she urged.
“Resolutions adopted by this Council promised an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. They also called for the release of hostages. But months later, violence continues, thousands more people have been killed and hostages have been separated from their families.”