The UN Security Council began meeting at 3:00 PM New York time for briefings on the worsening situation across the Middle East, looking first at threats of forced displacement from Gaza and then the escalating conflict in and around the Red Sea – all as the war in Gaza approaches the 100-day mark. Follow this page for live updates.
3:25 PM
Forcible transfer would be a war crime, warns senior human rights official
Ilze Brands Kehris, Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights, began by highlighting what was “preventable” as the crisis deepens in Gaza and warned-about the sheer scale of suffering.
Emphasizing the need for accountability for the 7 October terror attacks on Israeli civilians, she stated, “its horror will not be forgotten.”
She said that Gaza’s situation is not a mere by-product of conflict but a direct consequence of the conduct of hostilities. She mentioned the displacement initiated on 12 October with Israeli authorities ordering Palestinians north of Wadi Gaza to move south.
Despite Israel claiming it was for safety, Ms. Kehris raised concerns about compliance with international law, suggesting potential war crimes.
“Such compelled evacuations, failing to meet the necessary conditions for lawfulness, therefore potentially amount to forcible transfer, a war crime.”
3:20 PM
Any Gazans displaced must be allowed to return: Griffiths
Humanitarian Affairs chief Martin Griffiths continued saying that efforts to send humanitarian convoys to the North have been met with delays, denials and the imposition of impossible conditions.
The lack of respect for the humanitarian notification system puts every movement of aid workers in danger, he said.
“Providing humanitarian assistance across Gaza is almost impossible,” he said. “Our access to Khan Younis and the Middle Area is largely absent.”
In these circumstances, the spread of hostilities further southwards would significantly increase pressure for the mass displacement of people into neighbouring countries, he said.
“I want to emphasize that any persons displaced from Gaza must be allowed to return, as international law demands,” he said, expressing deep alarm by recent statements by Israeli ministers regarding plans to encourage the mass transfer of civilians from Gaza to third countries, currently being referred to as “voluntary relocation”.
Any attempt to change the demographic composition of Gaza must be firmly rejected, he said.
While Gaza is the epicentre of this crisis, he said “let us not forget the 1,200 people killed, thousands injured and hundreds taken in the brutal attack by Hamas and other armed groups on Israel on 7 October, and the accounts of abhorrent sexual violence”.
More than 100,000 people have been displaced within Israel as a result of the 7 October attack by Hamas and other armed groups and due to ongoing rocket fire from armed groups in Gaza and Lebanon.
In this vein, he expressed continued concern about the risk of a further regional spread of this conflict.
Stain on our conscience
“What we have seen since 7 October is a stain on our collective conscience,” he said. “Unless we act, it will become an indelible mark on our humanity.”
People will continue to suffer and die from the rockets, the bombs, the missiles and the bullets and in increasing numbers from starvation, disease and exposure, he said.
“We cannot let this happen,” he said, reiterating his call for a ceasefire, for the Council to take urgent action to end the war.
He also repeated his call for far greater compliance with international humanitarian law, including the protection of civilians and the infrastructure they depend on; the provision of essentials for survival; the facilitation of humanitarian assistance at the scale required; and the humane treatment and immediate release of all hostages.
3:07 PM
'Scenes of utter horror' in northern Gaza: UN relief chief
The UN's Emergency Relief Coordinator, Martin Griffiths, is speaking first. He told ambassadors that what has been unfolding in Israel and Gaza is a war conducted "with almost no regard" for the impact on civilians.
Relentless military operations continue in Gaza, with tens of thousands killed and injured - the majority women and children.
“We can see it in the forced displacement of 1.9 million civilians, a staggering 85 per cent of the total population, traumatized and forced to flee again and again as the bombs and missiles rain down, and we can see it in the appalling conditions on ground: shelters overflowing, and food and water running out, with the risk of famine growing by the day,” he said.
Health system devastated
The health system is in a state of collapse. Now winter has arrived in Gaza, bringing with it bitter cold, exacerbating the struggle to survive. This makes it all the more deplorable that facilities critical to the survival of the civilian population have come under relentless attack, he said.
In total, 134 UN relief works agency, UNRWA, facilities have been hit and at least 148 UN personnel and non-governmental organization (NGO) staff have been killed in Gaza.
Humanitarian sites have been struck on numerous occasions, despite their identification and notification to the Israeli Defense Forces. In the last few days alone, two NGO premises have been hit.
Orders for evacuation are unrelenting. As ground operations move southwards, aerial bombardments have intensified in areas where civilians were told to relocate for their safety.
More and more people are being crammed into an ever-smaller sliver of land, only to find yet more violence and deprivation, inadequate shelter and a near absence of the most basic services.
“There is no safe place in Gaza,” he said. “Dignified human life is a near impossibility.”
3:05 PM
France’s Ambassador, Nicolas de Rivière, is chairing the Council for the month of January and he's just gavelled it open.
3:02 PM
Both of the senior UN officials will be briefing ambassadors via videolink, and they're in vision already waiting their turn to speak, on a giant screen above the iconic horseshoe table.
Both Israel and Palestine are going to have the chance to speak, likely at the end of the meeting.
Relief chief Martin Griffiths along with Ilze Brands Kehris, Assistant Secretary-General for the UN human rights office (OHCHR) are expected to brief ambassadors at the open meeting, called for by new Council member Algeria, whose ambassador has made clear he intends to represent the Arab voice in world affairs at this crucial time on the Council.
The meeting comes as tensions and threats increase across the whole Middle East, with alarming exchanges of fire along the Israel-Lebanon border, as well as attacks by Houthi rebels in Yemen on international shipping in the Red Sea.
On Thursday night, the United States and the United Kingdom retaliated against Houthi positions inside Yemen, an escalation that is directly linked to events inside Gaza as the rebels make common cause with Hamas.
Earlier this week, on Wednesday, the Council held closed-door consultations where it considered a report by the Secretary-General on the implementation of resolution 2712, which among other points, called for “urgent and extended” humanitarian pauses in Gaza, as well as an immediate release of hostages.
Also on Wednesday, the 15-member Security Council adopted a resolution strongly condemning the attacks by Houthi rebels off the coast of Yemen. The resolution passed with 11 votes in favour, with four abstentions: China, Russia, Algeria and Mozambique.
About The Author
Comment List