UN humanitarian affairs chief Martin Griffiths issued a statement yesterday demanding that the carnage in Gaza stop. He offered a ten-point plan for making that happen. “As the carnage in Gaza reaches new levels of horror every day, the world continues to watch in shock as hospitals come under fire, premature babies die, and an entire population is deprived of the basic means of survival. This cannot be allowed to continue.
“The warring parties must respect international humanitarian law, agree to a humanitarian ceasefire and stop the fighting. The United Nations and its humanitarian partners, present in Gaza for decades, are committed to responding to the mounting humanitarian needs, guided, as always, by the principles of humanity, impartiality, neutrality and independence. We have the expertise, knowhow and most certainly the will,” he declared.
The first nine points of the plan deal with allowing his UN Office of the Coordinator of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and other humanitarian aid agencies complete freedom to operate in Gaza, to include greatly expanding the flow of humanitarian aid into the strip. The tenth point calls for the immediate implementation of a ceasefire “to allow basic services to restart and essential commercial trade to resume. Such a ceasefire is also vital to facilitate the delivery of aid, allow the release of hostages, and provide respite to civilians.
“These are the actions required to rein in the carnage. The plan is comprehensive, and we are determined to push for every step, but we need broad international support. The world must act before it is too late,” Griffiths concluded
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said this morning that in Gaza, “Massive outbreaks of infectious disease, and hunger, seem inevitable,” speaking at an informal briefing to states at the UN in Geneva following a visit to the Middle East. All of the bakeries in Gaza are now out of service, after being bombed by Israeli air strikes.
World Health Organization Director General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, also speaking to reporters in Geneva yesterday, called “"Israel’s military incursion into Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City is totally unacceptable. Hospitals are not battlegrounds. We are extremely worried for the safety of staff and patients,” he said, writing on WHO’s X account. “Protecting them is paramount,” Ghebreyesus said. He also said that: “But one thing is clear, under international humanitarian law, health facilities, health workers, ambulances and patients must be safeguarded and protected against all acts of war. Not only that, they must be actively protected during military planning. Even if health facilities are used for military purposes, the principles of distinction, precaution and proportionality always apply. The safety of patients and staff, as well as the integrity of the health care systems in the wider community, are of paramount concern. International humanitarian law must be respected.”
