The United Nations: The situation in the occupied Palestinian land is deteriorating to unprecedented levels in modern history

Ramez Al -Akbarov, the deputy of the United Nations Coordinator for the Middle East peace process, said before the UN Security Council that Gaza – after 22 months of fighting – is more drowned in a catastrophic situation with the increasing number of civilian victims and collective displacement and now: famine.

He added – through a television circle from Jerusalem – that the hostages held in Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups are still suffering in horrific circumstances.

As for the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, it also faces an unprecedented crisis, which is to expand the settlements unabated, demolishing and escalating violence in a way that undermines any prospects for peace.

In the periodic Security Council meeting on the situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian issue, Al -Akbarov said that the choice was not more clear than the present time: either continued the current path of a long -term conflict in a way that enshrines the occupation, or re -adherence to a political process that resolves the conflict and ends the occupation and achieves a two -state solution.

On the horizon

Unfortunately, as Al -Akbarov said, there is no end on the horizon of the conflict in Gaza, despite the efforts of the brokers to reach a ceasefire agreement and the release of the hostages, this is still far -reaching.

The UN official talked about the escalation of the Israeli military shelling throughout Gaza, as the tents of the displaced, schools, hospitals and residential buildings hit. He said that the targeting of journalists is continuing, noting that more than 240 journalists have been killed in Gaza since the conflict began.

The Akbarov, who holds the position of United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator on the occupied Palestinian territory, also spoke about his recent visit to Gaza and his amazement in the scope of destruction and suffering. He said that he met humanitarian workers who risk their lives to deliver aid while themselves live in unbearable conditions.

He said that the United Nations and its partners are relentless to help the population in Gaza, but the security risks are very high and current adaptation measures are not sufficient at all.

The suffering of the hostages

According to Israeli sources, Ramiz Al -Akbarov said that 50 hostages of them are a woman, who are still being held by Hamas and other Palestinian groups in Gaza. It is believed that 28 of them were killed.

The UN official talked about his visit to the affected societies in Israel and watching the destroyed homes in Nir Oz, where one in four of its population was killed or kidnapped on October 7.

He said he had survivors with unbearable loss and shocks. He reiterated the discomfort about the videos published by Hamas and the Islamic Jihad group of meager Israeli hostages.

He added that the abuse of hostages is a flagrant violation of international law. He stressed the need to treat them in a generous manner and allow them to receive visits and aid from the International Committee of the Red Cross.

West Bank

The situation in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, continues to deteriorate dangerously, as the elder said, to reduce the area of ​​residence of the future Palestinian state while rapidly advancing the reality of the one state based on illegal occupation and continuous violence.

He touched on the continued operations of the Israeli security forces in the northern cities and refugee camps. He said that more than 32,000 residents of three camps are still homeless as a result of these continuous operations. He stressed the necessity of being able to return to their homes and resume services, including the introduction from the United Nations Relief and Works of Palestine Refugees (UNRWA).

Al -Akbarouf concluded his speech before the Security Council by saying that this disturbing image “pushes us to work with determination to change the current path, starting with the ceasefire and the release of all hostages.”

He added that what is required now is a bold work to resolve the conflict, end the occupation and restore the political horizon.

Joyce is equal to assisting the Secretary -General of the United Nations for Humanitarian Affairs, began to be brought to the Security Council by referring to the famine in Gaza Governorate and the expectations of its breadth to Deir Al -Balah and Khan Yunis at the end of next month, according to the integrated classification of food security stages.

She reviewed some numbers that reflect the reality in Gaza, and said:

• More than half a million people are currently facing severe hunger, want and death. By the end of September, the number may exceed 640 thousand.
• About a million people face the fourth emergency stage of the classification of food security stages, and more than 390,000 in the third stage (the crisis). There is almost no one in Gaza was not affected by hunger.
• At least 132,000 children under the age of five are expected to suffer from acute malnutrition between now to the middle of next year. And the number of people threatened by death, among these children, increased three times to more than 43,000. As for the number for pregnant and breastfeeding women, it is expected that it will increase from 17 thousand to 55 thousand.

Familiarity caused by the conflict

Massqui said that the famine is not caused by a natural drought or disaster, but a catastrophe that was created as a result of a conflict that killed a huge number of civilians, injuries, destruction and mass displacement.

She pointed to the increase in the entry of aid to Gaza during the past few weeks. She said that the United Nations and its partners brought, during this period, at least 12 thousand metric tons of wheat flour and supported 80 kitchens that offer 400 thousand meals per day, and they brought arapeutic food to thirty thousand children suffering from malnutrition sufficient for a month, and provided vital medical supplies including blood units, and they brought clean water to more than a thousand sites.

She pointed to the resumption of limited commercial supplies, which contributed to reducing the prices of basic commodities, which are still exorbitant and far from the reach of the population.

But the UN official said that these important developments will not change or stop the course of starvation. She added: “To meet the needs of 2.1 million hungry, we need much more. We need to bring and connect more quantities of life -saving assistance, and we need to raise restrictions on basic supplies, and we need to end the delay and rejection that undermines our work every day.”

The United Nations Emergency Relief Coordinator said that international humanitarian law prohibits the use of starvation as a method of war and attacks on the necessities of survival of the population – such as food, water and agricultural infrastructure.

She concluded her speech by saying that failure to work now will lead to unchanged consequences. The Security Council and all the United Nations member states called for work immediately to ensure the immediate and permanent endowment of hostilities in Gaza, the release of all hostages immediately and without conditions, protecting civilians and vital infrastructure, arriving in aid safely and urgently and without obstacles and across all the points of entry to all the people in need of Gaza, and the resumption of the flow of trade commodities on a large scale.