S/PV.9763 Security Council

I extend a warm welcome to the Ministers and the other high- level representatives present in the Chamber. Their presence today attests to the importance of the issue for consideration. In accordance with rule 37 of the Security Council’s provisional rules of procedure, I invite the representatives of Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belgium, Brazil, Cameroon, Chile, Cuba, Egypt, India, Indonesia, the Islamic Republic of Iran, Iraq, Ireland, Israel, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Maldives, Mauritania, Mexico, Morocco, New Zealand, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Peru, the Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Spain, the Syrian Arab Republic, Thailand, Tunisia, Türkiye, Uganda, the United Arab Emirates, the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela and Viet Nam to participate in this meeting. I propose that the Council invite the Permanent Observer of the Observer State of Palestine to the United Nations to participate in this meeting, in accordance with the provisional rules of procedure and previous practice in this regard. There being no objection, it is so decided. In accordance with rule 39 of the Council’s provisional rules of procedure, I invite Mr. Tor Wennesland, Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, to participate in the meeting. In accordance with rule 39 of the Council’s provisional rules of procedure, I also invite the following briefers to participate in this meeting: His Excellency Mr. Stavros Lambrinidis, Head of the Delegation of the European Union to the United Nations; His Excellency Mr. Cheikh Niang, Chair of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People; His Excellency Mr. Paul Beresford-Hill, Permanent Observer of the Sovereign Order of Malta to the United Nations; and Her Excellency Mrs. Elardja Flitti, Deputy Permanent Observer of the League of Arab States. The Security Council will now begin its consideration of the item on its agenda. I give the floor to Mr. Wennesland. Mr. Wennesland: We have now entered the second year of this horrific conflict, and the region is on the verge of yet another serious escalation. The violence in the occupied Palestinian territory and the wider region shows no signs of abating Just yesterday in Gaza, Israeli forces struck a building in Beit Lahiya, leaving at least 60 Palestinians dead, including at least 25 children, according to preliminary figures provided by the Gaza Ministry of Health. That strike is yet another in a deadly series of recent mass casualty incidents in the northern part of the Gaza Strip. We are witnessing not only a horrific humanitarian nightmare, but also a rapidly accelerating unravelling of the prospects for a sustainable resolution to the conflict. I was again in the Gaza Strip last week, and what I witnessed defies imagination. In the southern part of the Strip, I saw the sheer magnitude of the devastation that the war has inflicted on the population. I saw immense destruction of residential buildings, roads, hospitals and schools. I saw thousands living in makeshift tents, with nowhere else to go as winter approaches. Let me add anecdotally that, on the way from the crossing into Gaza up to the Japanese health compound in Khan Younis, in and out of the Strip, I could count only two buildings that were not totally or partly destroyed. I spoke with our United Nations colleagues and their humanitarian partners, who face increasing challenges in their tireless efforts to deliver vital assistance. They described the dire humanitarian situation in northern Gaza, which has received virtually no humanitarian assistance since the start of October. I also heard from Palestinian non-governmental organizations, whose demands were very clear: the war must end. Civilians must be protected. And they must be able to access assistance to meet their basic needs. And even in the face of just trying to survive, they recognized that there must be a kind of political solution here, for the conflict and the occupation to end. In Israel, I have also repeatedly heard the cries of victims. This 7 October was a grim marker of Hamas’s horrific attack in Israel that terrorized the population and marked a year of captivity for hostages who are still being held in Gaza in unbearable conditions and denied International Committee of the Red Cross visits, their fates unknown. For them as well, this nightmare must end, and the hostages must be freed. We are also at the most dangerous juncture in the Middle East in decades. The Council was briefed yesterday by my colleague on the serious escalations between Iran and Israel this month (see S/PV.9762). Meanwhile, the hostilities between Hizbullah and Israel are inflicting civilian casualties, massive displacement and destruction on both sides of the Blue Line. Armed groups operating from Yemen, Iraq and Syria also continued to launch missiles and projectiles towards Israel. Israel has reportedly carried out dozens of air strikes in Syria in the past month. Every effort — by all of us — must be made to de-escalate the situation and establish a different trajectory towards greater peace and stability in the region. We need a ceasefire, and we need the hostages to be released from Gaza now. I urge all parties to engage constructively in urgent diplomatic efforts to de-escalate the situation and avoid an endless spiral of death and destruction. In the almost 13 months since the brutal attacks perpetrated by Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups on 7 October 2023, more than 42,000 Palestinians and more than 1,600 Israelis and foreign nationals have been killed, with 101 hostages still held in captivity in Gaza. Tens of thousands of people have been injured, the vast majority of them Palestinians, including a staggering number of women and children. Palestinian medics and journalists and more than 230 United Nations staff have been killed. Israeli military operations and fighting with Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups continued across the Strip. Israeli military evacuation orders cover more than 80 per cent of the Strip. Nearly 2 million people are displaced. In recent weeks, Israeli military operations have intensified in the northern Strip, killing more scores of Palestinians. Military actions have also caused the closure of essential services, including water wells and medical facilities, further exacerbating the humanitarian crisis. I again unequivocally condemn the widespread killing and injuring of civilians in Gaza, the endless displacement of the population in Gaza and the shocking mistreatment of detainees. I also condemn the continued holding of hostages in Gaza and the firing of rockets towards Israeli population centres, which has continued this month. A fundamental shift is required to improve humanitarian operations in Gaza. It is essential to establish a safe enabling environment, meet operational requirements, including funding, and ensure that Israeli authorities facilitate access that will allow for unimpeded movement of food, shelter materials for the winter, medicine, fuel and the capacity to repair essential life-saving infrastructure. The mounting lawlessness inside the Strip must also be addressed. The second round of the polio campaign began on 14 October in central and southern Gaza, and it was very successful, with more than 90 per cent vaccinated. However, we have yet to access the north. I urge the Israeli authorities to facilitate the full roll-out of the campaign and a similarly coordinated effort to meet winter needs. As the focus remains on Gaza and the escalating violence in the region, the situation in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, is also deteriorating. Violence continued at alarming levels, having intensified since the conflict in Gaza began. During the reporting period, 54 Palestinians, including three women and eight children, were killed, mostly in the context of Israeli security forces operations in Area A, which the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) say are targeting Palestinian armed groups and militants. In the same period, eight Israelis, including four women, were killed by Palestinians in shooting attacks in the West Bank and Israel. Another two Israelis, including one woman, were killed in separate shooting attacks in Israel by Arab citizens of Israel. On 1 October, two Palestinians carried out a shooting and stabbing attack in Jaffa, killing seven and wounding 15. On 3 October in Tulkarm, 18 Palestinians were killed in an Israeli air strike, including one woman and three children. Israeli security forces said they killed a Hamas commander and several Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad militants in the camp. That was the single-deadliest such incident in the West Bank in nearly 20 years. With the start of the olive harvest this month, daily settler attacks and harassment continued across the West Bank, sometimes in the presence, or with the support of, Israeli forces. On 17 October, an IDF personnel shot dead a 59-year-old Palestinian woman harvesting olives in the West Bank. The olive harvest is critical to the Palestinian local economy. However, settler violence, along with restrictions on access to land imposed by both settlers and Israeli forces, place it at grave risk. I strongly condemn all acts of violence against civilians, including acts of terror. I call on Israel to protect the Palestinian population and to hold perpetrators of all violence accountable. I urge security forces to exercise maximum restraint and to use lethal force only when it is strictly unavoidable to protect life. On 28 October, the Israeli Knesset adopted two laws on the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) forbidding Israeli State officials from contact with UNRWA or its representatives and prohibiting UNRWA operations within what is referred to as the “sovereign territory of the State of Israel”. Those developments risk bringing about the collapse of UNRWA’s operations across the occupied Palestinian territory and severely undermine humanitarian operations in Gaza, which rely on UNRWA. Those bills are set to go into effect in 90 days. The rights of Palestine refugees were set out in a General Assembly resolution that predates the creation of UNRWA (General Assembly resolution 194 (III)). Unilateral steps, such as that legislation, which not only seek to undermine work that the United Nations is mandated to do but threaten to further set back a political resolution to the conflict on the basis of United Nations resolutions and international law, must be avoided. The confluence of challenges across the region requires us to act with urgency to cease hostilities and de-escalate. We must have a ceasefire, now. We must have the release of hostages in Gaza, now. Without a ceasefire, the fundamental shift required to scale up humanitarian assistance that can meet the current catastrophe in Gaza and to improve the situation for humanitarian deliveries will be impossible. We must also concretely advance a political resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, including by ceasing irreversible and unilateral steps on the ground that undermine the two-State solution. We urgently need a set of understandings to establish a political and security framework in Gaza in line with the principles I have outlined repeatedly to the Council. Those frameworks must facilitate a Palestinian Government structure that can reunify Gaza and the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, politically, economically and administratively, with no reductions in its territory, with no displacement of Palestinians from the Strip. All efforts to those ends must be prioritized. I am very concerned that facts on the ground are being established that will undermine those core principles for years to come. That includes the attempt by Israel to dismantle UNRWA. I have repeatedly said that there can be no long-term solution in Gaza that is not political. There must be a path to end the occupation and achieve a two-State solution. Israelis and Palestinians don’t deserve this unrelenting conflict, which has ruined countless lives. They deserve a better future, one without open-ended conflict, occupation and regional war. We must do everything in our power to chart a course towards a just and lasting peace that will enable a two-State solution on the basis of United Nations resolutions, previous agreements and international law, with Jerusalem as the capital of both States. The United Nations stands ready to support all those efforts.

I thank Mr. Wennesland for his briefing. I now give the floor to the Permanent Observer of the Observer State of Palestine

Allow me, at the outset, to thank you, Mr. President, for your decision to personally preside over this meeting and to express our appreciation to the Ministers who are taking part in this open debate. I would also like to thank the briefer, Mr. Tor Wennesland, and through him the United Nations, as our Organization continues trying to uphold its sacred mandate despite repeated Israeli attacks against the United Nations, its Secretary-General and its personnel. In the words of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, “the darkest moment of the Gaza conflict is unfolding in the north of the Strip, where the Israeli military is effectively subjugating an entire population to bombing, siege and the risk of starvation. The Israeli Government’s policies and practices in northern Gaza risk emptying the area of all Palestinians. We are facing what could amount to atrocity crimes, including potentially extending to crimes against humanity”. On her part, the acting Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs concluded in the Security Council recently that “the entire population of north Gaza is at risk of dying”. Take a moment to grasp what that means. The entire population of north Gaza is at risk of dying. Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians are at risk of imminent death, faced with the death penalty for refusing to leave their land. I have sat in the Council week after week, and stood before the General Assembly week after week, hoping to be able to tell my people that help is on the way. They have endured horrors that members watch on their television screens, and yet can barely comprehend, but their tormentors continue to be shielded, and Palestinian victims continue to be abandoned. There is a lot of solidarity and empathy in the Council, in these halls and around the world. Many countries are taking bold initiatives for justice to prevail, and we are grateful to all of them. But as we barely scratch the surface of ending Israeli impunity, Israel continues committing crime after crime, defying every rule and all States assembled in the United Nations, betting that its will to kill and colonize will outweigh the collective will of the international community to save lives and achieve freedom and peace. Palestinians are besieged, bombed and starved and blamed for being killed. They have nowhere to go. And they know that, if they leave, they will not be allowed to return. Israel denies that it is implementing the very plan members of the Council see it deploy before their eyes. It is outraged to be accused of crimes it has already confessed to. Israel wants to rewrite international law to consider that indiscriminate killing; the targeting of civilians, including humanitarians and doctors and journalists; the use of starvation as a method of war; arbitrary detention, abduction and torture, wilfully causing great suffering or serious injury to body and health; wanton destruction; forcible displacement; and colonization are all legal as long as they are committed by Israel. They are barbaric only if committed by others. Israel is inventing a law that adapts to, and changes with, the identity of the victims and the identity of the perpetrators — a racist, supremacist, inhumane law. Will the Council allow Israel to dehumanize us further as part of its attempt to erase us? Will Israel succeed in making the destruction of the Palestinian people, starting with northern Gaza, acceptable to the Council, or at least convince the Council that it is inevitable and there is nothing the Council can do about it? There is a lot that the Council can do. The Palestinian people did not surrender; neither should the Council. I have said that more than once, and repeat it here. The International Court of Justice delivered provisional orders, considering that there is a real and imminent risk that irreparable prejudice will be caused to rights found by the Court to be plausible, including the right of the Palestinians in Gaza to be protected from acts of genocide and related prohibited acts identified in article III of the Genocide Convention. Instead of abiding by those orders, Israel not only breached them, but obliterated them, doubling down on its genocide. What was a real and imminent risk 10 months ago has become an undeniable reality today. Are States willing now to finally denounce this genocide, especially given Israeli crimes in northern Gaza? Are they willing to act accordingly? If not now, when? Once there are no more lives to save? Israel understands that to be able to pursue its genocidal and colonial campaign, it needs to dismantle the international-law-based order, or to carve an Israeli exception within it. It understands that the United Nations, its representatives and agencies, as well as the International Court of Justice, the International Criminal Court, the humanitarian community and journalists are all obstacles on the way. It is no coincidence that this is the conflict with the most United Nations staff, humanitarians and journalists killed. It is no coincidence that Israel has made outrageous accusations and led unprecedented attacks against the United Nations, the courts and the humanitarian and media organizations in an attempt to intimidate and silence them. To better besiege the Palestinians, it needs to neutralize those who may provide them with help, those who could shed light over the crimes against them and those who may hold accountable those responsible. Israel is therefore currently at war with the United Nations — with everyone here — declaring the Secretary-General persona non grata, killing and maiming and detaining and torturing United Nations staff by the hundreds, attacking United Nations peacekeepers — including this morning in southern Lebanon — and striving to dismantle a United Nations agency, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA). The legislation passed yesterday to destroy UNRWA’s ability to serve Palestine refugees but also its ability to help the Palestinian civilian population in Gaza survive, constitutes a new level in this war against the United Nations, and an integral part of the all-out assault on the Palestinian people and their presence in their homeland. The entire world rose to the defence of UNRWA. The membership of the coalition to defend UNRWA at the United Nations rose to beyond 125 Member States in the past few months, thereby recognizing its vital role in providing life-saving assistance to generations of Palestinian refugees, insisting it is the backbone of the humanitarian response in Gaza and emphasizing its role as a pillar of regional stability and a lifeline of hope. Yesterday countries around the world responded to the Israeli legislation with statements of condemnation and outrage. And yet Israel still sits among us and utilizes its seat to incite against the United Nations here, incitement that translates into attacks, the killing and maiming of United Nations personnel and the bombing of United Nations shelters and facilities there. When will the condemnations lead to action and accountability? When? Israel is waiting to see the international response to its actions, and in the absence of deterrence, Israel will move on to the next chapter of its crimes. The genocide is possible only because of impunity. Israel has crossed every red line, broken every rule and defied every prohibition. When is enough really enough? When is the Council going to act? This seat I am sitting in belongs to the Palestinian people, to every one of the millions of Palestinians — the Palestinian people who are besieged, bombed and starved as we speak. Forty-three thousand have been killed by Israel and are accounted for; many more are unaccounted for, buried under the rubble and in mass graves. One hundred thousand Palestinians have been maimed, many of them endure permanent disabilities or amputations. Two million are displaced. Entire communities endure successive attacks by occupation forces and Israeli settlers. Thousands of prisoners are arbitrarily detained, brutally assaulted, some raped and others killed while in detention. And there is still now no end in sight for their agony. We salute them from this Chamber. They are the bravest among us. When Council members speak, they should address them — all of them, every single Palestinian — not me. I will vacate this seat now, with one last message: This seat is not empty. It is filled with people enduring unspeakable pain who cannot reach the Council. The Council has to reach them. This is the Security Council, and it must reach every single person who is in pain among the Palestinians. That is the Council’s duty. Reach the child who, after being amputated and having lost his parents, finds himself in a tent, still under the bombs, and with nothing to eat. Reach the mother who still talks to her little child, imagining he could still be alive after months under the rubble. Reach the father who left to find food for his family only to return to find them all killed. Talk to them. Tell them what the Council intends to do. Or tell them they are left alone to die. Honour the memory of those killed and save those who can still be saved — by deciding on an immediate and unconditional ceasefire and the provision of life-saving assistance while all efforts continue to ensure the implementation of the Council’s resolutions; by ending impunity and ensuring accountability; and by finally bringing to an end this terrible injustice. Let the Council’s actions match its words. Stop this genocide, or forever remain silent.

I now give the floor to the representative of Israel.

Just a few days ago, many here heard the testimony delivered by freed hostage Amit Soussana here at the United Nations. She recounted her ordeal in chilling detail: alone, chained by the ankle, unable to move and repeatedly sexually assaulted by a Hamas terrorist guard. She was forced to enter the bathroom at gunpoint, a guard subjecting her to disturbing questions and violations, knowing full well what was going to happen next. After the assault, she was forbidden even to cry or show emotion. In her appeal to Member States, she begged for urgent action to secure the release of others still held captive, warning against the blind eye she feels has been turned to their suffering. Given how little the hostages are mentioned by so many, it seems the blind eye she pleaded not to be turned remains blind to their suffering. However, we will not look away. We will not forget. To any hostage who might hear me: we will never forget you, never abandon you and never stop until you are all safely home. Every participant in this meeting will speak today about the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), but I have been speaking about UNRWA’s infiltration for years. In the past year, we have exposed UNRWA in Gaza as a terrorist front, camouflaged as a humanitarian agency. Its payroll resembles a most-wanted list, rather than an aid organization. The scandals that have exposed UNRWA in Gaza are almost too many to count. Nearly every time we gather here, I have new outrageous information to share about UNRWA. Less than two weeks ago (see S/PV.9750), I shared that an UNRWA clinic was acting as a weapons storage and launch site, disguised under the blue banner of the United Nations. Less than a week before that (see S/PV.9744), we exposed that the head of the teachers union in Lebanon moonlighted as a Hamas commander — or, more accurately, he was a Hamas terrorist moonlighting as an UNRWA teacher. Now I can share the details of the elimination of Mohammad Abu Itiwi. He had been employed by UNRWA since July 2022. It therefore cannot come as a shock that he was also a commander in Hamas’s vile Nukhba forces. He personally participated in, and directed the brutal murder, rape and kidnapping of, Israeli civilians on 7 October 2023. Let me repeat that, while Mohammad Abu Itiwi was collecting United Nations- funded paycheques every month, he was murdering and kidnapping Israeli civilians. It was Mohammad Abu Itiwi who led the savage rampage on the bomb shelter in Re’im, in southern Israel. Dozens of young people hid, fearing for their lives while their friends were being raped and murdered at the Nova music festival. Mohammad Abu Itiwi led his men in murdering almost all of the young people hiding in the shelter and in kidnapping the survivors. A United Nations paycheque was waiting for him in his letterbox when he went back to Gaza. After we delivered justice to that terrorist, United Nations officials had the audacity to mourn him. The Secretary-General himself expressed outrage at his elimination. The Secretary-General of the United Nations condemned the death of a terrorist who led some of the most vicious assaults on innocent civilians in modern history. Do not misunderstand me: it is legitimate to engage in debate. It is legitimate to criticize us. What is entirely illegitimate is to cover one’s eyes and to dismiss and ignore what is clearly before them. It is illegitimate and immoral to ignore the indisputable fact that UNRWA in Gaza has become a front for Hamas. Yet that is exactly what the Secretary- General is doing. I have often spoken in this Chamber about the necessity for moral clarity. Yet the reactions from this institution and its leader to the elimination of a terrorist make it clear that clarity is lost. Look at this picture. We can see Faisal Ali Musalam Naami, in a black shirt. He is seen loading the lifeless body of Jonathan Samerano into his car — a grotesque trophy bound for Gaza after his terrorist comrades murdered Jonathan at Be’eri kibbutz. An UNRWA employee, while being paid by the United Nations, is inside Israel. There is also a video showing him collecting bodies and driving them into Gaza. When looking at that horrific image, one must ask: how does kidnapping and killing civilians fit into an UNRWA employee’s job description? Where in UNRWA’s mandate is that justified? Does UNRWA’s mandate allow it? Do UNRWA’s donors know how their funds are being used? How can any nation or official defend such a monster? How can anyone here allow him to remain involved in humanitarian efforts? They are not aid workers; they are savages who have seized UNRWA in Gaza and transformed it into a Hamas chapter. Those heinous criminal scandals can no longer be swept under the rug or ignored. The Council, the international community and the United Nations as a whole must accept the reality that UNRWA in Gaza is beyond redemption, beyond saving and beyond reform. We must turn a new page now. While our hostages continue to be tormented by their terrorist captors in conditions we cannot begin to imagine, and while UNRWA continues to provide cover for terrorists, Israel has been hard at work delivering humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza. On average, over 100 aid trucks have entered Gaza daily for weeks. Yet, as of last week, there were 700 trucks filled with aid awaiting collection inside Gaza. Their contents are rotting away in the sun. It is clear to all those unblighted by a political agenda that Israel has gone above and beyond its humanitarian obligations. The problem is not the flow of aid, but Hamas. Hamas hijacks supplies, storing or selling them to fuel their terror machine while Gaza’s civilians are neglected. Israel remains committed to working with our partners to deliver aid to those in need. But as long as Hamas exploits those resources, true humanitarian relief cannot reach the people of Gaza. We continue our humanitarian efforts. In particular, we have dedicated significant attention and resources to coordinating medical aid and assistance. Last week, the second round of the polio vaccination campaign was completed in southern Gaza, in collaboration with the World Health Organization and UNICEF. That second stage saw almost 300,000 children under the age of 10 being vaccinated, with the campaign commencing in northern Gaza in the coming days. We also continue to facilitate the transfer of patients and medical staff to other hospitals. For example, on 24 October, our forces facilitated the transfer of patients — mostly children — from Kamal Adwan Hospital to other hospitals in Gaza. We thank our partners for their collaboration in such efforts. While Israel meets its humanitarian obligations in the south, fighting barbaric terrorists, we continue to drive Hizbullah from our border, as it launched relentless attacks against our civilians. Another civilian was killed last night. However, it is not only our civilians whose lives Hizbullah risks. As we operate in southern Lebanon, our forces have located and dismantled dozens of tunnel shafts and terrorist infrastructure, eliminated dozens of terrorists and located massive amounts of weapons. In one particular discovery, a weapons store containing grenade launchers, missiles, rocket- propelled grenades and other weapons were hidden inside a mosque in the heart of a civilian neighbourhood in Lebanon. Those outrageous violations of resolutions 1701 (2006) and 1559 (2004), as well as the basic laws of morality and decency, cannot be overstated. We have also proven, time and time again, Hizbullah’s exploitation of positions of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL). We have presented mountains of evidence of Hizbullah tunnels, bases, weapons and observation posts placed within metres of UNIFIL bases. This situation cannot continue. UNIFIL has neglected its reporting obligations on those flagrant violations for the past two decades. There must be change, and that change can begin only when we uproot Hizbullah from southern Lebanon, while protecting Israeli and Lebanese civilians, along with the peacekeepers themselves. The Council must remember that the enemies we face do not care for human life. They do not care for the wellbeing of those they pretend to protect. They have only one aim: death and destruction. We have been under attack from seven fronts for more than a year now. We will continue to carry out all the necessary operations in accordance with international law to ensure the safe and secure return of our 70,000 internal refugees. As we approach the seventy-seventh anniversary of the vote to adopt on the United Nations Partition Plan (General Assembly resolution 181 (II)), some are under the impression that the United Nations somehow gifted Israel to the Jewish people and that that gift must now be placed under a microscope. But make no mistake — the United Nations gifted us nothing. The land of Israel has been our homeland for more than 3,000 years. Resolution 181 (II)) was accepted by Israel but rejected immediately by the Arab States. Not only was it rejected, but it was also used as an opportunity to launch an invasion. They had every intention to wipe us from the face of the Earth. Yet it was our strength, resilience and commitment that saved us from extermination. Today that very same strength, resilience and commitment empowers us once more, driving us to stand against the barbarism and evil that seeks to destroy us again. Members must not forget that Israel was forged through our sacrifice and blood — not by their words. While our State is no longer an infant, it still faces new and constant threats from those who desire our extinction. The international community should correct historic wrongs and support us in our efforts to defend our State and people. It must not continue to unfairly scrutinize Israel and enable the terrorists who still hold our civilians hostage to this day. In conclusion, I would like to ask each of the members of the Council to take a moment — not now, but later today, when they go back to their residences — to put themselves in our shoes. I ask each of them to imagine for a minute their country surrounded on all sides by enemies, attacking their people, families and homes with the aim of destroying them — and to ask themselves frankly, what would they do?

I shall now make a statement in my capacity as Federal Councillor and Head of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs of Switzerland. Violence continues to beget more violence in Israel, Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem, in a spiral that is now spreading throughout the region. That has been the nature of the conflict for decades, and it has unfortunately become even worse since Hamas’s acts of terror against Israel on 7 October 2023. Since then, we have completely lost our sense of humanity. Since then, the Security Council has adopted four resolutions on this matter, all of which Switzerland supported. They call for the immediate and unconditional release of the hostages, a ceasefire in Gaza, respect for international law, the protection of civilians and unimpeded access for humanitarian assistance. Yet not one of those resolutions has been implemented, which undermines the credibility of the Council. All actors — State and non-State actors alike — are regularly violating the Geneva Conventions and international law in general. That is unacceptable. More than a year after 7 October 2023, Hamas still holds 97 hostages and continues to commit indiscriminate hostilities against Israel. More than a year after those acts of terror, it has not been possible to prevent the conflict from spreading in region. It is becoming a meaningless exercise to call again and again on the parties to the conflict to respect and implement the decisions of the Council. That is a genuine tragedy, given the growing need to implement our decisions. Making appeals to the parties is of little use if all of us, both in this Chamber and on the battlefield, fail to shoulder our responsibilities, which is our obligation as signatories to the Geneva Conventions. We need robust willingness from all the high contracting parties to guarantee a greater regard for humanity in this war. On 18 September, Switzerland welcomed the General Assembly’s decision to organize in Geneva a conference of the high contracting parties on the implementation of the Fourth Geneva Convention, relating to the protection of civilians in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem. My country is preparing to take on that task. The time has come to find a way out of this conflict. Yesterday’s decision by the Israeli Parliament against the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) marks a new turning point in the conflict. Not only is that decision largely incompatible with international law, but it also threatens the delivery of humanitarian assistance to the suffering civilian population — assistance provided to this day by UNRWA. Switzerland expects Israel to fulfil its obligations under international law, including the Charter of the United Nations and international humanitarian law. Switzerland will continue to help the civilian population, in line with my country’s humanitarian tradition. But humanitarian assistance is not a lasting solution to this conflict. I firmly believe that peace in the Middle East can be achieved only through political means — or not at all. The time has therefore come for those countries committed to finding such a solution to step up their efforts. In our view, a ceasefire agreement with phases covering the short-term, medium-term and long-term is a concrete possibility. Switzerland continues to believe that a two- State political solution is also possible and desirable. The aim of any political solution is to offer Israelis and Palestinians the prospect of living in peace and security. Leaving the situation to succumb to violence and destruction is not an alternative worthy of the values we represent here in the Council. And neither is it an alternative that is compatible with our humanity. Let us then work towards a political solution with the parties to the conflict, the States of the region that are committed to the two-State solution and the members of the Council. Switzerland welcomes every initiative to that end. I will mention three of them but there are more — mediation by the United States, Qatar and Egypt for the release of the hostages and a ceasefire in Gaza; the launch of the Global Alliance for the Implementation of the Two-State Solution on 26 September here in New York — tomorrow we will participate in the first follow-up meeting in Riyadh — and France’s initiative for a political solution to the alarming situation in Lebanon. My country calls on all parties to conflicts to engage in good faith in negotiations and respect their obligations under international law. We are also here to reaffirm the central role of the United Nations in peace, stability and humanitarian assistance in the region. Every United Nations agency must be able to do its job and help people in need. The Secretary-General must be able to speak without hindrance with all parties. Any unilateral attempt to weaken its mandate only weakens multilateralism, which we created to guarantee peace and security in the world — a world in which Switzerland is ready to play its part. I resume my functions as President of the Council. I now call on the Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of Guyana.

I thank Special Coordinator Tor Wennesland for his briefing. The war in Gaza has set several new and unacceptable bars, among them a rapid decline in the nutritional status of the population in Gaza not seen elsewhere on the globe and the highest number of humanitarian workers killed in a single conflict globally. Furthermore, more women and children have been killed in this Gaza war than in any other recent conflict in a single year. We have witnessed, too often, the tragic irony of sophisticated precision weaponry striking innocent human beings, instead of military targets — women, children, the elderly, the disabled and aid workers, their life cut short, extinguished amid the rubble of homes, schools, hospitals and places of worship. More than 42,000 persons have been killed, and more than 100, 000 injured; among the dead are at least 13,000 children, nearly 1,000 of them below the age of 1 year. Guyana remains deeply troubled by the ongoing situation in northern Gaza, where the population has been under siege and subject to a bombing campaign for more than three weeks. We share the concern of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights that the Israeli military action in the northernmost governorate of Gaza may be causing the destruction of the Palestinian population. We call on Israel to comply with its obligations under international law regarding the protection of the inhabitants of the territory, which it is illegally occupying, as determined by the International Court of Justice. All this is happening in full glare through an unprecedented flow of information, in real time, about the atrocities being perpetrated. The world today is much better positioned than we were 30 years ago, for example, to act based on real-time information. Against that reality, inaction in the face of such overwhelming human suffering, to which we are witness every single day, cannot be justified. Guyana appeals to the Council to unite to halt the unceasing onslaught on Palestinians in Gaza and help de-escalate and stabilize the situation in the wider Middle East. To do otherwise would be to abrogate our primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security. The hopes for peace of Palestinians are being extinguished even as the risks to peace for Israelis continue to mount. We are concerned that prospects for the future of peace in the Middle East will be further endangered if this persistent cycle of violence and recrimination is not curtailed. We also caution against the perils attendant upon the “othering” of a people, which, as history has shown, could engender the most egregious violations of their human rights. The Security Council, aided by international law, has a duty to act on the side of peace and justice and in favour of the two- State solution. The bills passed in the Israeli Parliament yesterday regarding the operations of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) in the occupied Palestinian territory give cause for grave concern. They risk compounding the oppression of the Palestinian people. Should UNRWA be dismantled, the implications would be devastating for the millions of Palestinians who depend on its life-saving services in the absence of an independent Palestinian State. UNRWA’s mandate was created by the General Assembly and can therefore be altered only by that body. We urge careful consideration by all concerned of the implications of unilateral action in this sensitive case. I conclude by underscoring the following three points. First, achieving a ceasefire is now more urgent than ever before, and the Security Council must immediately rise to the occasion. Secondly, it is equally urgent to secure the release of Israeli hostages in Gaza, as well as the release of Palestinian civilians, including children who have been arbitrarily detained in Israel. Thirdly, we must urgently address the unprecedented humanitarian situation in Gaza. Guyana is particularly disturbed about what is taking place in northern Gaza, where the level of food insecurity is compromising people’s immune systems, subjecting them to wasting and other intolerable forms of suffering. Children are bearing the brunt of acute malnutrition, and famine is all but confirmed. Let us act now to end this war and the suffering of the Palestinian people. Our common humanity demands it.

I now call on the Permanent Representative of the United States and member of President Biden’s Cabinet.

I thank Special Coordinator Wennesland for his sobering briefing. I do not know how many people in this Chamber have watched a child die of starvation. I have. It was nearly three decades ago, but it is the kind of memory that one does not forget — her rib bones poking out from under her skin, bloated belly and gaunt eyes. And I remember her mother’s eyes filled with despair. I think about her as we have seen reports that no food assistance has reached Jabalia or Beit Lahiya since early October. I think about the ribs, the bellies and the eyes of children in northern Gaza and about their parents, themselves having gone days without food, desperate to save them. The unimaginable suffering was set in motion by Hamas on 7 October 2023, and the United States has not been shy about criticizing the Security Council’s failure to condemn Hamas’s atrocities and repeated violations of international law. Many on the Council have not done so as of yet. At the same time, the United States has made clear to Prime Minister Netanyahu that, one year into the conflict, Israel must address the catastrophic humanitarian crisis in Gaza; that the United States rejects any Israeli efforts to starve Palestinians in Jabalia, or anywhere else; and that Israel’s words must be matched by action on the ground. Right now, that is not happening. That must change immediately. The United States has stated clearly that Israel must allow food, medicine and other supplies into all of Gaza, especially the north and especially as winter sets in, and protect the workers distributing it. In that regard, I reiterate our deep concerns about legislation adopted by the Knesset regarding the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA). There is no denying the fact that some UNRWA personnel were involved in the 7 October attacks. The Council heard directly from families of hostages taken into Gaza by UNRWA staff, as we just heard from the Israeli Ambassador. UNRWA itself has confirmed that there were some Hamas members found among its personnel. In addition — although we acknowledge the steps UNRWA has taken to implement the reforms outlined in the Colonna report — we need the progress to accelerate. And we call on the Secretary-General to create a mechanism to review and address allegations that UNRWA personnel have ties to Hamas and other terrorist groups. At the same time, we know that, right now, there is no alternative to UNRWA when it comes to delivering food and other life-saving aid in Gaza. Therefore, we have concerns about the legislation being implemented. Instead of speaking at one another, Israel and the United Nations must speak to one another to address the fears that led to the Knesset’s legislation and ensure that UNRWA can fulfil its critical mandate and rebuild confidence in its mission and the hundreds of staff members who are not associated with Hamas. In addition, as President Biden has reiterated, Israel must conduct its operations in Gaza in a way that protects civilians and adheres to international law. Efforts by the Israeli Government to facilitate humanitarian assistance is appreciated, but much more has to be done. We all know that Hamas uses schools, hospitals and ambulances to hide weapons and fighters. But harrowing reports of medical staff being arrested by Israeli forces at hospitals in northern Gaza are also deeply troubling. We urge Israel to publicly address those allegations immediately, and we reiterate that there must be no forcible displacement, no reoccupation and no territorial reduction of Gaza. In addition to sounding the alarm over the urgent humanitarian situation in Gaza, we must also not ignore the rising violence in the West Bank. Israeli authorities must intervene when extremist settlers launch attacks and must hold perpetrators to account. The United States will continue to impose sanctions on actors who commit or enable violent activities or foment extreme instability and violence against civilians in the West Bank. What is more, the United States has been clear: the Israeli Government’s settlement programme is inconsistent with international law and harmful to the prospect of a two-State solution. So too is undermining the West Bank’s economy. We urge Israel to release withheld clearance revenues and extend waivers for Israeli banks, thereby helping maintain correspondent banking relationships with their Palestinian counterparts, especially given the assessments that those institutions can adequately prevent money- laundering and the financing of terrorism. I know that it feels impossible with so much suffering now to think about the day after, but we must reject the false choice between alleviating pain today and preventing it tomorrow. The elimination of Sinwar, along with much of Hamas’s senior leadership and terrorist infrastructure, presents an opportunity for the parties to re-engage and, most important, finalize a ceasefire deal with hostage release consistent with resolution 2735 (2024), to begin taking steps to achieve a day after in Gaza without Hamas in power terrorizing Israelis and Palestinians alike and work towards a political settlement that provides a better future for Israelis and Palestinians. Let me just say here that diplomacy does work, but it takes a lot of work to get there. And we have to continue to put our efforts behind the diplomatic efforts that are currently being pursued. We have the urgent responsibility to stop the suffering of Palestinian civilians and secure the release of hostages, to alleviate their suffering and that of their families, make the most of this moment and ensure that the parties to the conflict do the same.

At the outset, I would like to thank you, Mr. President, for convening this meeting of the Security Council. We extend our sincere thanks to Mr. Tor Wennesland for his briefing. For more than one year, the Middle East, and Palestine in particular, has been gripped by worsening violence. The brutal Israeli aggression escalates daily, spilling over into Lebanon, Syria and beyond, posing a real threat to regional stability, as well as international peace and security. We witness entire communities facing death, starvation, outbreaks of disease, lands desecrated and international law rendered meaningless. Indeed, the framework that our predecessors built after the Second World War is crumbling before our eyes, unable to stand against an Israeli Power, shielded from accountability and enjoying total impunity. Today, unfortunately, we live in a world where might overwhelms right. As stated in different reliable reports, and confirmed by Mr. Wennesland in his briefing today, the situation in northern Gaza is beyond catastrophic. Just yesterday, in Gaza, Israeli forces struck a building in Bayt Lahya, leaving at least 60 Palestinians killed, including at least 25 children. To grasp the unprecedented level of destruction in Gaza, one needs only to look at The New York Times today: it is hard to find in Gaza a single building that remains undamaged. That destruction is not driven by military objectives but rather reflects an Israeli policy aimed at forcibly displacing Palestinians from their homes. As one staff member of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) described, people in northern Gaza are waiting for death. They are feeling abandoned, hopeless and alone. For three weeks now, relentless bombing has denied even United Nations staff access to food and medical care. And the healthcare system in Gaza is on the brink of collapse. Kamal Adwan Hospital, which suffered several bombardments, is barely functioning, without a blood unit, shrouds or basic medical supplies. As the Hospital Director said, they were expecting humanitarian aid to arrive, as promised by the international community, as promised by the Security Council, but only Israeli tanks came instead. Amid that crisis, the polio vaccination campaign is halted now, leaving children unprotected. Furthermore, in the south of Gaza, conditions are not better. Worse still, the situation is rapidly deteriorating as the Israeli occupation weaponizes starvation against civilians, especially children, by denying them essential food. According to verified figures, in the past year, more than 200,000 aid trucks were barred from entering Gaza. That is the real face of an Israeli occupation that treats Palestinians as less than human beings. UNRWA, the lifeline of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians, faces relentless attacks by the occupying Power. There have been 231 staff members of UNRWA killed; 190 premises of UNRWA were bombarded by the Israeli army; and now, the operations of UNRWA are at risk of being completely halted. Just yesterday, the Israeli authorities adopted two bills aimed at halting UNRWA activities in the occupied Palestinian territory. Algeria firmly condemns that decision and recalls that UNRWA operates under a mandate from the General Assembly, warranting our collective defence and support. UNRWA is irreplaceable. UNRWA is indispensable. It must continue to serve as a lifeline for Palestinian refugees until a just and political solution is achieved, establishing an independent Palestinian State. An enemy of transparency and accountability, the Israeli authority is attempting now to obscure the truth after outright denying its crime. It has even dared to threaten our multilateral bodies dealing with its flagrant violations of international humanitarian law. Some of those multilateral bodies regrettably have succumbed to that pressure. As the global conscience increasingly rejects images of death and destruction, calling for an end of the Israeli occupier’s unchecked actions, suppressing those images from the media, from reaching the world, has become a priority of the Israeli authority. In fact, the occupying Power endeavours relentlessly to hide its crime from scrutiny and from international justice. Foreign journalists are now barred from entering Gaza not for one week, not for one month, but for more than one year. Moreover, the few Palestinian journalists who remains in northern Gaza find themselves in the crosshairs of the Israeli occupation. Just last week, six journalists were accused of being terrorists by night to justify their killing later. That policy, which we have seen used, cost the lives of already more than 168 journalists in Gaza and now tens of them in Lebanon. That cruel reality was exposed by the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, who said, “targeting journalists is a strategy by Israeli authorities to obstruct the documentation of crimes”. Yet, the truth cannot be erased. Its light breaks through, clear for all to see. But where are the voices of those who once claimed to be champions of freedom of speech, of freedom of information? Why this silence in the face of such blatant transgressions? Unfortunately, our recent deliberations have reduced Palestinian suffering and nightmares into a mere count of aid trucks. However, the source of the suffering of the Palestinian people is not just a humanitarian crisis; it is a political crisis rooted in decades of occupation and oppression, dating back to the Nakba. In that regard, the international community’s failure to uphold their inalienable rights has deepened this tragedy. The core issue is the occupation. Only by addressing that root cause can we hope for just and lasting peace in the Middle East. Let us work together to impose an immediate and unconditional ceasefire in Gaza and Lebanon and to launch a genuine peace process that brings an end to the occupation of Arab lands.

I would like to thank Special Coordinator Tor Wennesland for his briefing. Since the horrendous terrorist attacks by Hamas on 7 October of last year, the international community has been witnessing an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe and challenges to the regional order. Violations of international law are happening each and every day. Civilians and civilian infrastructure, including hospitals and schools, are being targeted. Israeli hostages are still held in Gaza. The delivery of humanitarian aid is not being ensured, as hunger surges. The relentless expansion of settlements in the West Bank, along with worsening violence and impunity, are slicing up Palestinian land and threatening the viability of the two-State solution. This Organization, the United Nations, per se, is under severe attack. The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon has suffered repeated attacks from Israeli acts that constitute violations of international humanitarian law. The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) is confronted with existential challenges and has seen 233 of its humanitarian workers killed in Gaza in the past year. International humanitarian law must be observed at all times. The Republic of Korea expresses its grave concern, once again, over escalatory Israeli attacks killing and wounding innocent civilians. We are particularly disturbed by attacks on civilians in besieged northern Gaza, as aid is blocked, polio vaccination has been delayed, and hungry families are being forced to flee south at gunpoint. The Republic of Korea also condemns the use of civilians and civilian infrastructure for military purposes by both Hamas and the Israel Defense Forces. Moreover, yesterday’s approval by the Knesset of the two bills against UNRWA is extremely alarming. It is Israel’s obligation, under the Charter of the United Nations, to assist and grant privileges and immunities for the activities of the Organization. With the collapse of UNRWA, 2 million Palestinians in Gaza will suffer even more. In the long term too, the reality without UNRWA is unacceptable, as the Agency has provided essential services, including healthcare, to millions of Palestinian refugees in Gaza, the West Bank and beyond for decades. Let us be clear: UNRWA is indispensable. Israel’s actions against UNRWA will have a devastating impact on Israel’s relations with countries of the region and the international community. The Republic of Korea, along with the vast majority of United Nations Member States, therefore urges Israel, as a decades-long Member of the United Nations, to act more responsibly and to immediately stop all measures to dismantle UNRWA. An immediate ceasefire in Gaza, along with the immediate release of hostages, as well as rapid de-escalation in the region, are not only an option, but the only way to save thousands of lives and open a new pathway towards regional stability and long-term peaceful coexistence based on the two-State solution.

We welcome your participation, Mr. President, in the Security Council’s quarterly debate on the situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question. We would like to thank Mr. Tor Wennesland, Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, for his briefing and assessment of the situation in the Middle East in the context of the unprecedented uptick in pan-regional confrontation and violence, at the centre of which lies the most long-standing regional conflict — the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Over a year ago, the flames of war in the Gaza Strip flared up with renewed intensity, and the current escalation has become the bloodiest in the long line of Arab-Israeli wars. The number of dead, wounded and missing has exceeded 150,000, and it continues to rise unabated. Most of the victims are peaceful Gazan civilians, the majority of which are women, children and the elderly. Day in day out, we receive reports of air strikes on refugee and internally displaced persons camps in northern Gaza. The latest Israel Defense Forces (IDF) attack on Beit Lahia of 26 October killed at least 49 people and injured more than 80. Amid the hostilities and Israel’s blockade, the enclave is facing a genuine humanitarian disaster, accompanied by widespread starvation, outbreaks of infectious diseases and total destruction of civilian infrastructure. The number of refugees and repeatedly displaced persons runs into the millions. The dire situation persists in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. There are military raids by the Israeli army and ongoing clashes between local residents and settlers. Since 7 October, the number of detained Palestinians in the West Bank has exceeded 11,000 people. According to the President of the International Committee of the Red Cross, Mirjana Spoljaric Egger, the Israeli military operation has completely changed the very nature of the conflict towards dehumanization and stripping civilians of their human dignity. Direct threats and the use of force by Israel against the United Nations and its specialized agencies have become a hallmark of the current crisis. Some 310 aid workers, including 231 staff of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), were killed during the year-long military operation in the Strip. That represents the largest loss of life in the history of the United Nations. Ever since its foundation in 1949, the Agency has been uniquely entrusted with protecting the rights of Palestinians in the occupied Palestinian territories and providing assistance to them there and in neighbouring Arab countries. As the backbone of the United Nations humanitarian wing in the region, for decades, the Agency has been the main provider of life-saving aid to Palestinians, not only in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank but also in Lebanon, Jordan and Syria. Today, however, UNRWA is on the brink of being completely disbanded, as yesterday the Knesset passed bills prohibiting it from operating and revoking its staff’s immunities. Since the beginning of the active phase of Israel’s campaign against UNRWA, we have repeatedly stated that an end to its operations would have the most deleterious repercussions for the region and for the United Nations system as a whole. An extremely grave precedent, which undermines the very foundations of international multilateral cooperation, is being set before our very eyes in violation of the Charter of the United Nations, the relevant General Assembly resolutions and the Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations. In fact, Israel has singlehandedly decided to abolish a United Nations specialized agency that is not to its liking. Amid a rapid deterioration in the situation in the occupied Palestinian territories and a financial crisis sparked by the United States withholding of aid to UNRWA, yesterday’s decision by the Knesset risks bringing the Agency’s activities to a definitive end — something that Israel has precisely been seeking for decades. We concur with the Secretary-General’s statement that UNRWA is irreplaceable and that there is simply no alternative to it. At the same time, we are witnessing horrific events taking place in the Gaza Strip: Gazans are being deprived of their last lifeline, and we all know the answer to the question as to whether the Israeli authorities are able and willing to assume responsibility for delivering assistance to Palestinians in need. Over the past few weeks, we have heard United Nations representatives say, time and again, that they have no plan B, should UNRWA be forcibly disbanded. The likelihood of those laws not being enforced is close to nil. Further actions do not need to be referred to as a plan B, but what the international community is simply duty-bound to do is to continue to support Gazans at all costs and protect the 13,000 UNRWA staff in Gaza. Moreover, Israel’s actions to end UNRWA’s presence in the occupied Palestinian territory run counter to its obligations as an occupying Power and to the undertakings it made upon being admitted to the United Nations, including the implementation of General Assembly resolution 194 (III), on the right of Palestinian refugees to return and to receive compensation. As we have stated on numerous occasions, there is, and can be, no justification for the attack perpetrated by Hamas last year; we all condemned it and we will continue to do so. At the same time, there is no justification for what ensued, namely, the collective punishment of millions of Palestinian civilians. But Israel did not stop there, and now, with the tacit endorsement of Washington, it continues to stoke a full-scale regional confrontation. The spiral of violence has already extended far beyond the occupied Palestinian territory, destabilizing the situation in the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea. As of late September, West Jerusalem opened a second front in Lebanon, announcing the launch of an offensive operation, “Northern Arrows”, with the stated objective of undermining the military infrastructure of the Hizbullah movement. We are receiving numerous reports of civilian deaths caused by the IDF’s massive indiscriminate strikes on densely populated residential areas of Beirut and other Lebanese cities. Many journalists and media workers are among the dead and wounded civilians. In the night between 24 and 25 of October, the Israeli Air Force launched air strikes on a residential sector in the town of Hasbaya, in southern Lebanon, killing two staff from Al-Mayadeen TV and one cameraman from Al-Manar TV. The other day, Israelis also attacked Al-Mayadeen’s Beirut office. West Jerusalem regards casualties among civilians — and journalists are civilians — as a form of collateral damage. In that connection, I would like to remind Council members that, according to preliminary estimates, over the past year, dozens of journalists have been killed in southern Lebanon, and since the military operation in the Gaza Strip began, some 140 media workers have been killed in the line of duty. The obvious conclusion to be drawn here is that Israel’s deliberate strategy is to hunt down journalists who undermine West Jerusalem’s monopoly on the narrative about what is happening. The Israeli invasion of Lebanon has also endangered the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) contingent, which was deployed at the official request of Beirut in line with Security Council decisions, the latest being resolution 2749 (2024), adopted unanimously in August. Regardless of that, between 10 and 17 October alone, the IDF attacked the Blue Helmets’ positions several times, including with tanks and toxic ammunition, claiming at least 20 casualties. We therefore concur with the United Nations assessment that the frequency and nature of such attacks show that Israel is wilfully seeking to endanger the lives and safety of peacekeepers with the aim of forcing them to withdraw. At the same time, the Israeli leadership is unequivocally demanding the peacekeepers’ withdrawal, in disregard of the fact that such a decision can be taken only by the Security Council — the sole organ empowered to determine the mandate and modalities of UNIFIL’s activities — and by the Government of Lebanon, the country hosting the peacekeepers on its territory. The ongoing crisis in the occupied Palestinian territory and Lebanon has been the catalyst of a dramatic escalation in the widening confrontation with Jordan, Egypt, Iraq, Syria and Yemen, which is teetering on the brink. And now the United States-Israeli duo is doing its utmost to draw Iran into direct confrontation too. Yesterday in the Chamber (see S/PV.9762) we discussed in detail the disastrous consequences that that eventuality could have for the stability and security of the region as a whole. We have repeatedly stated that the root causes of the recurrent outbreaks of violence lie in the failure to settle the Palestinian-Israeli conflict on the basis of the well-known decisions by the Security Council and the General Assembly. Since the start of this unprecedented crisis, the General Assembly and the Security Council have adopted a number of resolutions aimed at de-escalating the violence in Gaza. Yet, to date, they all remain a dead letter. And it is an open secret that, to this day, it has been impossible to implement those decisions simply because of the position of just one country — the United States — which is not only providing international diplomatic cover for Israel, but also dutifully supplying it with weapons and intelligence. In doing so, Washington is paralysing the work of the Council, preventing it from adopting any decisions that could in any way rein in its Middle Eastern ally. Instead, our American colleagues are imposing their own ideas on Council members — ideas that have not even garnered the support of the Israelis, whose interests they are supposed to serve. I am referring to the so-called “Biden plan” on Gaza, which failed, and to the initiative to secure a ceasefire in Lebanon, which the Israeli Prime Minister rejected out of hand. Our American colleagues must stop sabotaging the Council’s new initiatives. And the latest votes in the General Assembly suggest that that is precisely what the overwhelming majority of the United Nations States Members expect of them. Do more than 40,000 Palestinian deaths not suffice to compel Washington to cooperate with the rest of the Council? After all, as we have seen time and time again, unilateral attempts to reconcile Israel with its neighbours without a just solution to the Palestinian question will not bring peace to the Middle East but lead only to a further cycle of escalation, akin to the one now gripping the region. There is no doubt that Israelis have a right to ensure their security, but the path to that goal lies solely in a comprehensive Middle East settlement process and the realization of the Palestinians’ legitimate right to have a State of their own within 1967 borders and with East Jerusalem as its capital. To that end, the relevant decisions of the Security Council must be implemented to stem the widespread bloodshed in the region and to prevent the Middle East from being engulfed by a major war. We urge all the parties involved — in the region and beyond — to exercise restraint, to end the violence and to avert a catastrophe. If we want to secure a peaceful future for Palestinian, Lebanese, Syrian and Israeli children, we must act now; we must not dither, lest the poison of violence and revenge contaminate the entire Middle East for years upon years and the region continue to lurch from one crisis to crisis.

I thank Mr. Wennesland for his briefing. The Security Council must take action to put an end to the regional escalation. There is an urgent need to establish an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza. That is the only way to put an end to the humanitarian disaster. All hostages must be released without delay. France condemns Israel’s strikes on civilian infrastructure, which constitute grave violations of the Geneva Conventions. We call on Israel to ensure the protection of all civilians and to lift any impediments to the delivery of aid. France expresses its deep concern about the extreme gravity of the situation in northern Gaza, where famine is already raging. We recall that any forced displacement constitutes a serious violation of international law. France has consistently condemned the terrorist attacks and sexual violence committed by Hamas and other terrorist groups on 7 October 2023. We recall our unwavering commitment to Israel’s security. On 26 October, Israel carried out strikes on military sites in Iran. They were conducted in response to Iran’s attack on Israel on 1 October. It is imperative for all the parties involved to refrain from any escalation or action likely to worsen the context of extreme tension prevailing in the region. In the West Bank and East Jerusalem, Israel must put an end to its settlement policy, which is illegal. The settlers’ policy of terror must cease. France condemns violations of the historic status quo at the holy sites in East Jerusalem and the provocations and unilateral measures in the West Bank. We support a reformed Palestinian Authority that is capable of exercising its responsibilities throughout the Palestinian territories, including in the Gaza Strip. France will continue its efforts to implement the two-State solution and will remain proactive, including in the Security Council, with its partners. In Lebanon too, we need an immediate ceasefire. There is an urgent need to fully implement resolution 1701 (2006) in order to achieve a long-term solution along the Blue Line that ensures respect for the security of both Israel and Lebanon. At the initiative of the President of the French Republic, France organized the International Conference in Support of Lebanon’s People and Sovereignty on 24 October in Paris, together with the United Nations. Participating States responded to the United Nations appeal and pledged $1 billion in aid, including $800 million in humanitarian aid and $200 million to support the Lebanese security forces. France pledged €100 million and 100 tons of humanitarian cargo. The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) is facing an existential threat following yesterday’s adoption by the Knesset of two laws. France calls on Israel not to criminalize the Agency’s activities and to respect its international obligations vis à vis UNRWA and the United Nations. France reaffirms its support for UNRWA.

I welcome your convening of this important meeting of the Security Council, Mr. President. I thank Special Coordinator Wennesland for his sobering briefing. One destructive year has passed. Japan renews its unequivocal and strong condemnation of the heinous terror attacks and hostage-taking by Hamas and others on 7 October 2023. Since then, Gaza’s agony has been deepening: tens of thousands of civilians have been killed and injured, and the population, including the hostages, are enduring unimaginable horrors. The longer the conflict in Gaza persists, the more innocent civilians will be victimized, the more the hostages will suffer and have their lives endangered, the worse the humanitarian situation will become and the greater the risk will be of the conflict spreading to the wider region. Therefore, Japan once again strongly demands an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and the release of all remaining hostages. We support resolution 2735 (2024) and remain hopeful that the tireless diplomacy of the United States, Egypt and Qatar will achieve a breakthrough soon. In the meantime, we must save the most vulnerable, particularly those in northern Gaza, who are facing siege, bombardment, evacuation orders and starvation. The delay in the polio vaccine campaign in the north is also deeply worrisome. Moreover, Japan is gravely concerned about the Knesset bills adopted yesterday, which severely restrict the operations of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), an agency indispensable in sustaining the lives of Palestinian citizens and refugees. Any further humanitarian tragedies cannot be tolerated, and preventing them is the responsibility of all States Members of the United Nations. While we need to monitor the reform of UNRWA, maintaining the function of UNRWA is a part of that responsibility. Beyond Gaza, the situation in the West Bank remains serious. We call on the Israeli Government to fully freeze settlement activities and take appropriate measures to prevent continued extremist settler violence. A revitalized Palestinian Authority (PA) is critical to restoring peace and stability for both Israel and Palestine. Therefore, we the international community should assist in reforming the PA, both politically and financially. For decades, Japan has provided necessary assistance to the PA. What we have offered is not just resources or projects, but a hope for a peaceful future. We remain steadfastly committed to that end. Japan is deeply concerned about the exchanges of attacks among regional actors, including the latest attack by Israel against Iranian military facilities, and strongly condemns any action that escalates the already volatile situation. All parties should exercise maximum restraint. In Lebanon, fighting between the Israel Defense Forces and Hizbullah continues, affecting civilians on both sides of the Blue Line. More than 2,000 people have been killed since last year, and more than 1 million people have been forced to flee their homes. Many have crossed into Syria. The crisis is spreading. To prevent further escalation, we reiterate our call for an immediate ceasefire between Israel and Hizbullah and urge all parties to make sincere efforts to reach a diplomatic settlement. Significantly increasing the flow of humanitarian assistance is vital in addressing the needs of people in Lebanon, who are suffering at this very moment. Japan has recently decided to extend an emergency grant of $10 million for humanitarian assistance to the people in Lebanon. Today we also decided to provide an additional $10 million in response to the humanitarian situation in Syria, which has witnessed the influx of displaced persons from Lebanon. Lastly, Japan reiterates that only a two-State solution can finally resolve this conflict. Peace cannot be achieved through belligerence, but only through diplomacy. Dame Barbara Woodward (United Kingdom): I would like to thank Special Coordinator Wennesland for his briefing today. The death of Hamas’s leader, who had the blood of innocent Israelis and Palestinians on his hands, must be a turning point in this dreadful conflict, which has now claimed more than 43,000 lives in Gaza. This is the time to urgently secure a ceasefire in Gaza and the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages, who have suffered in inhumane conditions for more than a year. The humanitarian situation in Gaza is horrific. Acute malnutrition is now a reality for many. This month, the least aid has entered Gaza since the beginning of the conflict, and the situation in northern Gaza is especially alarming. Gazans have been asked to evacuate the north in their hundreds of thousands; but there is nowhere safe to go. In recent weeks, just as we have seen throughout the conflict, Israeli strikes have hit designated humanitarian zones. On Thursday, we saw again profoundly distressing scenes after an Israeli strike on Al-Shuhada — a school-turned shelter in the Nuseirat refugee camp, which killed at least 17 people, including nine children. We remain very concerned too about the severe impact of those strikes on civilian infrastructure, including health-care facilities, which face critical shortages in medical supplies, food and water. Israel must comply fully with international humanitarian law. As my Prime Minister has said, the world will not tolerate any more excuses from Israel on humanitarian assistance. There is no justification for denying civilians access to essential supplies. The Government of Israel must do more to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure and allow aid to be delivered safely and at scale. Related to that, reports that United Nations agencies have had to postpone the rollout of the polio vaccine campaign in northern Gaza are deeply disturbing. Israeli authorities must allow aid workers to carry out that work safely and securely. We also unequivocally reject attempts to undermine or degrade the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNWRA), which is the backbone of the humanitarian response in Gaza and a lifeline for hundreds of thousands of civilians there and in the wider region. The allegations against UNRWA staff earlier this year were fully investigated. There is no justification for cutting off ties with UNRWA. Israel must abide by its obligations and ensure UNRWA that can continue its life-saving work. We reiterate that northern Gaza must not be cut off from the south. Palestinian civilians, including those evacuated from northern Gaza, must be permitted to return. There must be no forcible transfer of Gazans from or within Gaza, or any reduction in the territory of the Gaza Strip. Civilians must be protected. In the West Bank, the level of illegal settlement expansion and settler violence is unprecedented. Israel must take action now to address that. A sustainable solution to the crisis cannot and will not be achieved through unilateral action. The international community and the Council have been clear and unified in our commitment to the two-State solution, which is the only viable path to a long-term peaceful solution. The Palestinian and Israeli people alike have a right to self-determination, safety and security, and we must all work together to provide a credible and irreversible pathway towards a two- State solution.

We welcome your presiding over the Council today, Sir, which demonstrates the importance that Switzerland attaches to the responsibility of the Council in the current tragic crisis in the Middle East. I also want to thank Special Coordinator Wennesland for his commitment and for his briefing today. Slovenia is horrified by the level of death, injury, destruction and suffering in all of Gaza. We are shocked, watching the most devastating bombardment of a civilian population and civilian infrastructure since the Second World War. We are shocked by reports of severely maimed children, left to die in Gaza because their transfer for treatment abroad was denied by Israel. We are shocked by information on health workers being detained and others being prevented from saving people’s lives. We are shocked by the fact that everything is lacking — food, life-saving health care and shelter. But first and foremost, we are shocked by the lack of humanity. We recall that collective punishment and starvation are prohibited as a method of warfare. We reject forced displacement. As violations continue, we repeat our call for full respect for international law, including international humanitarian and international human rights law. We repeat our call on Israel to allow unimpeded access to the United Nations and humanitarian organizations. We call for aid to be delivered at scale. Famine is at the doors of Gaza. Once famine is declared, it is already too late. We furthermore call for the establishment of adequate conditions for the finalization of the polio vaccination campaign, which has been postponed. Instead of steps being taken to alleviate human suffering, it seems steps are taken to augment it. We denounce the passing of legislation on the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) in the Knesset. If implemented, it would have a severe impact on the work of UNRWA in Gaza, the West Bank, Lebanon and potentially in the region. UNRWA is the backbone of the humanitarian response in Gaza and a lifeline for Palestinian refugees. That was reaffirmed in the shared commitments on UNRWA, which have garnered the support of 123 signatories, including all members of the Security Council. The full implications of the laws have yet to be analysed. However, in our view, their implementation would constitute a direct breach of Israel’s obligations under international law and the Charter of the United Nations. We are alarmed by the situation in the West Bank, including settlement policies, demolitions and restrictions. The International Court of Justice has been clear — the occupation is unlawful and it must end. We condemn settler violence, including in the context of the ongoing olive harvesting season. We once again underline our call for an immediate ceasefire. As suffering deepens, it is more essential than ever to take immediate steps towards a ceasefire and the release of hostages. We welcome efforts by our partners to achieve a diplomatic solution. That includes short-term arrangements that could contribute to alleviating the suffering of people in Gaza. That must be complemented by serious and irreversible steps towards achieving a long-term solution, which can only be in the form of the two-State solution. Just as the Palestinian and Israeli people deserve peace, so do people in Lebanon. We urge Israel to halt its military operation. The escalation of conflict cannot bring peace and security to peoples and States in the region. We are appalled by the deepening humanitarian crisis in Lebanon, including through the impact of airstrikes and mass displacement. We condemn the attacks on the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) and underline the need to ensure and respect the safety and security of United Nations peacekeepers. We welcome the holding of the International Conference in Support of Lebanon’s People and Sovereignty in Paris. The swift and full implementation of resolution 1701 (2006) is essential. As the situation is becoming more extreme, our opposition to violations of international law must become stronger. Silence is assent. Therefore, we cannot allow ourselves to accept any numbing effect of the scale of violations. We also cannot allow ourselves to be disillusioned by a lack of action in the Council. The Council could do, and should do, more. The war must end.

I begin by thanking you, Mr. President, for presiding over this quarterly open debate on the situation in the Middle East. I also thank Special Coordinator Wennesland for his sobering briefing. Malta remains gravely concerned about the war in Gaza, the worsening situation in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, as well as the spreading of the conflict into Lebanon and the wider regional implications of these prolonged conflicts. While our commitment to a secure, stable and peaceful Middle East remains unshaken, the unabating attacks and violence, coupled by the Council’s inability to act or implement its resolutions, are deeply worrisome. An immediate and unconditional ceasefire must be established. The images and scenes coming out of Gaza depict a horrific situation. Across the entire Strip, unprecedented threats to civilians are rampant. The humanitarian situation long ago became catastrophic. Weeks of relentless Israeli shelling and hostilities in the north, including on schools, hospitals, places of worship and displacement camps, have caused mass casualty incidents. Countless civilians, especially women and children, continue to suffer forced and repeated displacement. The cut-off of humanitarian aid is further compounding the situation. The United Nations and its implementing partners continue to face severe and unlawful obstructions by Israeli authorities in delivering critical aid to north Gaza. Most aid convoys are denied access on a daily basis. The World Food Programme has warned that the threat of famine is growing. Immediate and sustained humanitarian access across the Gaza Strip is desperately needed. We unequivocally condemn all actions that target civilians and civilian infrastructure. All parties must adhere to international law, including through the implementation of the orders of the International Court of Justice on provisional measures. We reiterate our condemnation of Hamas for its reprehensible terrorist acts on 7 October 2023 and reiterate that Israel has the right to defend itself in accordance with international law, including international humanitarian law. We similarly demand the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages held by Hamas and other armed groups and condemn the continued indiscriminate rocket fire that is endangering civilian population centres in Israel. In the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, the situation is deteriorating rapidly. Israel’s unilateral actions, including illegal settlement expansion, dispossession, arbitrary detainment and continued raids in the West Bank, make life intolerable for Palestinians. Extremist settler violence fosters further instability. Furthermore, the status quo must be maintained, and threats to the holy sites must cease. We recall the advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice of 19 July, which stated that Israel’s presence in the occupied Palestinian territory is unlawful and must end as soon as possible. Malta is deeply concerned about the steps taken by the Israeli Knesset yesterday to abrogate the ability of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) to function in the occupied Palestinian territory. Those actions are contrary to international law, further entrench the occupation and have immediate devastating implications for millions of Palestinians and broad regional consequences. UNRWA is a stabilizing force in the region and an irreplaceable actor for Palestine refugees. We call on Israel to reconsider the legislation and to ensure UNRWA’s unhindered access to those in need. Equally crucial is international support for the Palestinian Authority as it pursues revitalization. Malta is also gravely concerned about the escalating military situation in Lebanon. We condemn the alarming toll on civilians and the widespread displacement taking place. We call for an urgent cessation of hostilities across the Blue Line and demand a ceasefire rooted in resolution 1701 (2006). Hizbullah’s rocket attacks must end, and Lebanon’s sovereignty and territorial integrity must be upheld. Bolstering Lebanon’s State institutions, particularly the Lebanese Armed Forces, is also critical. As a troop-contributing country, Malta is deeply concerned about recent assaults on peacekeepers of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon. Such acts are blatant violations of international law and undermine the mission’s critical role. The Security Council must stand united in its unwavering support for peacekeepers. Furthermore, we also need to maintain focus on the recent attacks and retaliatory strikes between Israel and Iran, which risks further widening the conflict. We urge all parties to de-escalate in order to break the cycle of escalation and avoid an all-out regional war. Our immediate priority at this pivotal moment must be de-escalation and accountability. Diplomacy and concerted efforts towards ceasefires in Gaza and Lebanon are essential to prevent further bloodshed. Beyond the immediate crisis, our long-term objective must be the credible and irreversible realization of the two-State solution in accordance with Security Council resolutions and internationally agreed parameters. That is the only path that will ensure lasting peace and security for Palestinians and Israelis and for the entire region. The Council has not only the tools but also the responsibility to act decisively, and Malta stands ready to act. Let us not delay any further. The future of the region depends on the actions we take today.

I welcome all the ministers and their participation in this quarterly open debate. On 24 October, just five days ago, the United Nations commemorated 79 years of its establishment, with the primary purpose of upholding international peace and security, avoiding another major war and saving succeeding generations from the scourge of war. The situation in the Middle East, however, is deeply troubling. The ongoing illegal occupation of the State of Palestine by the State of Israel, compounded by the escalation following the 7 October 2023 attacks, has exacerbated the conflict. The acts of aggression by Israel in Lebanon and the incessant Hizbullah rocket attacks on Israel, the attacks on United Nations peacekeepers, retaliatory strikes involving Iran and Israel and assaults by, and retaliatory strikes against, the Houthis in Yemen further complicate this already volatile landscape. Those events challenge the very raison d’être of the United Nations, our understanding of the safeguards provided by international law and the values we profess to uphold. The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNWRA), a United Nations entity, is being targeted by, inter alia, hostile legislation. We agree with the views of the Secretary-General, His Excellency Mr. António Guterres, that the law adopted by the Knesset of Israel banning UNRWA in Israel “could have devastating consequences for Palestinian refugees”. As we approach this debate, over a year since the recent escalation, it is essential to acknowledge the grim realities as presented by our briefer. And so I take this opportunity to thank Mr. Tor Wennesland, Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, for his sobering and comprehensive briefing. Over 70 years since the question of Palestine was first brought before the United Nations, we still bear the burden of delivering peace in the region by supporting a two-State solution that guarantees the independence of the Palestinian people and a safe and secure Israel and Palestine. After months of meetings and consultations, the Security Council must fulfil its obligation as the primary organ responsible for maintaining international peace and security and ensure the implementation of its resolutions 2712 (2023), 2720 (2023), 2728 (2024) and 2735 (2024). It must implement its resolutions in order to end the horrifying cycle of death and destruction for the people in Gaza and greater Palestine, as well as to start the important task of rebuilding the State of Palestine. To achieve those very fundamental objectives, we must be bold in our engagements with the parties to the conflict and unrelenting in demanding that they uphold the principles espoused in the Charter of the United Nations and international law, including international humanitarian law, as well as the binding orders of the International Court of Justice, particularly the provisional measures ordered in the Application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide in the Gaza Strip (South Africa v. Israel). For more than 12 months, we have repeated our unequivocal condemnation of the killing of civilians in Gaza, in the occupied Palestinian territories and in Israel. We must emphasize the staggering toll: over 1,300 Israeli civilians have been killed and hostages have been taken; and over 43,000 civilians in Gaza have been killed, with over 100,000 more injured. That cannot be normalized. Regrettably, we have witnessed collective punishment, the intentional targeting of civilians, the denial of humanitarian aid and the tragic killing of humanitarian workers and journalists. The use of civilians as human shields is a further violation that cannot go unaddressed. Such actions violate the core tenets of international humanitarian law. We have denounced the multiple displacements of civilians and the destruction of civilian infrastructure, including attacks on hospitals and medical facilities, the latest of which was the attack on Kamal Adwan Hospital in north Gaza over the weekend. We also condemn the recent Beit Lahiya attacks, with a rising death toll of more than 93 Palestinians killed, compared to the previously reported figure of 60. Every day, statistics provided by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East and other humanitarian organizations point to serious violations of international humanitarian law and resolutions adopted by the Security Council and the General Assembly. While we note the complexity and deep- rooted nature of the conflict, we are of the view that achieving lasting peace and stability in the region will require adherence by the parties to the conflict to international law, including international humanitarian law, and other political and moral imperatives. With an ever-worsening humanitarian crisis, intensified military operations and tens of thousands of civilian fatalities, Sierra Leone again calls for an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and the entire region and for the release of the remaining hostages held by Hamas. A ceasefire is the most practical way to move forward the process of engagement — especially the resuscitated engagements by Egypt, Qatar and the United States, supported by resolution 2735 (2024) — and to establish the conditions conducive to the foundation of lasting peace. A ceasefire will allow for the unhindered supply of essential medical assistance and other humanitarian support, facilitate negotiations and diplomatic efforts to address the underlying issues and pave the way for post-conflict reconstruction. Without a ceasefire, the cruel cycle of indiscriminate attacks on civilians, repeated evacuation orders, displacement and humanitarian restrictions will continue. An immediate ceasefire will rescue the 1.8 million people across the Gaza Strip experiencing high levels of acute food insecurity classified as being in Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) phase 3 — including the 133,000 people facing catastrophic food insecurity and the estimated 60,000 cases of acute malnutrition among children as young as 6 months old — from starvation and death, as outlined in the recent IPC Global Initiative’s special snapshot. It will also protect the humanitarian personnel serving under difficult circumstances, whose safety and well-being are under continuous threat. As was already emphasized by our briefer and other Council members, swift and bold political will and good-faith efforts are required by all parties to the conflict in Gaza and other parts of the region to bring an end to the fighting and ongoing destruction. That is my delegation’s ultimate request in today’s quarterly debate, and we stand ready to support all efforts initiated by the Council to secure the freedom of the Israeli hostages and to actualize the long-awaited desire of the civilian population in Gaza and the occupied Palestinian territories, as well as in Israel, for genuine peace, independence and peaceful coexistence.

I thank you, Mr. President, for presiding over this meeting. I would also like to thank Special Coordinator Wennesland for his briefing. Today the Council is once again considering the situation in the Middle East. What is unfolding before our eyes is that Gaza and the entire Middle East region are confronted with an ever-worsening situation, elusive peace prospects and a looming all-out war. The Council should act immediately on those pressing issues with a view to promoting a ceasefire, saving lives and restoring peace. I wish to stress the following points. First, an immediate and permanent ceasefire is the prerequisite for saving lives and preventing further deterioration of the situation. There is no justification for any delay in a ceasefire. The United States has announced that it will reinvigorate ceasefire negotiations. We hope that those negotiations will not fall into the same rut as we saw in the past few months, or become a pretext for prolonging and expanding the fighting. Related diplomatic efforts should not be used as an excuse to obstruct Council action. We support the Council in using all the means available in its toolbox to take further action towards achieving a ceasefire. Secondly, Gaza has been bombarded into a living hell, with northern Gaza is becoming a hell within hell. Humanitarian supplies have been cut off and relief operations denied. Civilians in the Jabalia camp have been evacuated at gunpoint, and patients and doctors at the Kamal Adwan Hospital have been subjected to inhumane treatment. The bottom line of international humanitarian law has been trampled upon time and again. It is a stain on the conscience of humankind and cannot be tolerated. Israel must comply with its obligations under the international humanitarian law. No double standards should be permitted in that regard. Thirdly, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) has been providing relief in accordance with the mandate bestowed upon it by the General Assembly and is the backbone of humanitarian assistance in Gaza. The Israeli Knesset, in total disregard for the strong opposition of the international community, passed two bills in an attempt to restrict and close UNRWA. China expresses its strong condemnation in that regard. Closing the Agency would be a new blow of collective punishment against millions of Palestinian refugees in the region and severely impact the humanitarian situation, as well as security and stability in the region. We call on Israel to halt and revoke those bills and guarantee the dignity, safety and facilitation of the work of United Nations humanitarian agencies, including UNRWA. Fourthly, in the current context, certain countries are continuing their large-scale supply of weapons to Israel. Whether such acts would contribute to achieving the objectives set out in the relevant Council resolutions is a serious issue that must be taken seriously. At its tenth emergency special session, the General Assembly adopted a resolution urging all States to stop supplying weapons and equipment that might be used in the occupied Palestinian territory (resolution ES- 10/24). China recently signed the joint letter initiated by Türkiye along with more than 40 other countries calling for the implementation of that requirement in that resolution. We hope that the countries concerned will take seriously the grave consequences of sending such massive supplies of weapons and stop fuelling the flames of military adventurism. Fifthly, while the flames of war have been raging on in Gaza over the past year, the situation in the West Bank has also been deteriorating. Illegal settlements have been expanding, with more than 1,700 Palestinian houses confiscated by force or demolished and thousands of Palestinians displaced. The occupying Power has also frequently conducted violence against the Palestinian people and used various means to suppress and restrict the governance of the Palestinian National Authority. Such practices are creating a new reality and undermining the conditions on which the realization of the two-State solution is based. Preventing unilateral actions from eroding the basis of the two-State solution should be a priority for the international community in advancing Palestinian-Israeli peace in the next phase. Sixthly, an all-out war in the region is looming. Israel’s recent invasion into Lebanon, its continuous indiscriminate bombardment and its multiple air strikes against Iran and Syria have violated the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the countries concerned and further destabilized the region. The situation is hanging by a thread. Any irresponsible adventurism would be extremely dangerous and would most likely lead to catastrophic consequences. We urge Israel to abandon  its obsession with force in order to prevent the region from being plunged into a larger catastrophe. We also call on all the parties to exercise maximum restraint, comply with the Charter of the United Nations and the principles of international law and to return to the right track of seeking political and diplomatic solutions to disputes.

We thank the Swiss presidency of the Security Council for convening this open debate on the situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question. We also extend our appreciation to Mr. Tor Wennesland, Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, for his insights on the current situation on the ground. As just described by the Special Coordinator, the humanitarian situation in Gaza and in the occupied Palestinian territories has reached catastrophic proportions and continues to deteriorate. The relentless escalation of violence, particularly targeting innocent populations and civilian infrastructure, stands in stark violation of international humanitarian law and demands our immediate attention. This unprecedented crisis necessitates unified and decisive action from the Council to address both the immediate emergency in Gaza and its broader regional implications. In that connection, it is urgent and imperative for the Council to expeditiously explores viable alternatives to address this crisis, including by strengthening existing resolutions through more robust and enforceable measures to guarantee immediate and unhindered humanitarian access to Gaza. Lives are at stake. The resolution of this crisis fundamentally requires the committed engagement and decisive intervention of key members of the Council, in recognition of the fact that stability in the Middle East is vital for both regional and global security and development. We must acknowledge that the four previously adopted resolutions pertaining to Gaza have yet to achieve full implementation. The Council maintains the capacity to formulate more effective approaches to secure an immediate and permanent ceasefire, address the humanitarian crisis and facilitate the release of all the hostages. That endeavour demands renewed commitment and innovative strategies from the international community and the Council. Furthermore, we note with grave concern the recent legislative action by the Israeli Knesset banning the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East from operating within Israel and the occupied territories. That decision, which has drawn widespread international criticism, severely impedes the delivery of essential humanitarian aid to Palestinian refugees. It is paramount that all humanitarian actors, including United Nations agencies and non-governmental organizations, be afforded the necessary access and security to fulfil their mandates in accordance with international humanitarian law and human rights principles. The Council must transcend the mere expression of concerns to implement decisive action. The violations of international law and total disregard for civilian rights require a robust and united response from this organ. Action is essential to safeguard human life and uphold justice. The gravity of the situation demands immediate attention. Any indication of potential genocide must elicit a comprehensive response utilizing all available diplomatic and legal mechanisms at our disposal. The preservation of human life and dignity must remain our foremost priority. Those concerted efforts are critical not only for providing relief to affected populations but also for maintaining the credibility and moral authority of the international community in crisis response. The Palestinian question persists as a fundamental issue affecting diplomatic relations and strategic interests in the Middle East. Its resolution is key to lasting regional stability and peace. In that regard, we reaffirm our consistent and unwavering commitment to the vision of the two-State solution, with Israel and Palestine coexisting peacefully within recognized borders, in full accordance with international law and the relevant United Nations resolutions.

I thank Special Coordinator Wennesland for his briefing this morning. I also acknowledge the presence of the various Ministers here in the Chamber with us today, including Brazil’s Minister for Foreign Affairs, whose country held the presidency of the Security Council when the current spiral of violence in the region began. These quarterly open debates are a valuable opportunity for the members of the Council, who are constantly speaking out on this issue, to listen to the views of other Members of the United Nations. I will therefore try to keep my remarks very brief. More than a year has already passed since 7 October 2023, when Hamas perpetrated its terrorist attacks, which Ecuador once again condemns unequivocally today. We have witnessed more than a year of unprecedented violence, which has caused death and pain to both the people of Israel and the Palestinian people, especially the residents of the Gaza Strip. Ecuador reiterates the need for an immediate ceasefire, the immediate release of all the hostages and the immediate implementation of the four resolutions already adopted by the Council on this matter. My country also recalls that all parties must comply with their obligations under international law, including international humanitarian law and international human rights law. A failure to do so will have grave consequences. Ecuador condemns all attacks against civilians, critical infrastructure and civilian objects, as well as all violence and hostilities against civilians. It is crucial to stop the spiral of violence building throughout the region, as well as to protect and support the work of those who are working alleviate the suffering and help the victims of war, in line with resolution 2730 (2024). Ecuador reiterates its support for the work of the United Nations, its Secretary-General and all its agencies. The States Members of the United Nations must cooperate with it, as it is our Organization, facilitate its work as much as possible and, at the very least, not hinder its work. The role of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East is particularly important for regional stability. Any decision or action that affects its work is worrisome. My country has reiterated those positions on many occasions, always with a view to contributing in good faith to a solution to this conflict and acting constructively in an attempt to build bridges and not exacerbate differences between the parties. Thousands of deaths and the suffering of entire generations show that the question of Palestine will not be resolved by weapons and violence. The ultimate solution will be peaceful, negotiated and just for the parties, with the existence of two States — Palestine and Israel — on the basis of the 1967 borders and the relevant resolutions. It is time to move forward on that path.

I now give the floor to the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Brazil.

The post-war international order is crumbling under our watch. The foundations laid after two global conflicts are being eroded. The events unfolding in the Middle East are not just another chapter in an old conflict. They are a stark reflection of a deeper crisis, where might makes right and the principles meant to safeguard peace are overshadowed. That is why President Lula da Silva has called for a vigorous response to the grave challenges of our time. As he underscored during the opening of the General Assembly at its seventy-ninth session, the world needs a comprehensive overhaul of the Charter of the United Nations. A Charter review conference may seem ambitious, but it reflects the founding vision of the United Nations. Article 109 makes it clear that no system should remain static in an ever-changing world. The Council’s duty is to protect all humankind, not just to cater to a few. Its failure to act decisively has allowed atrocities to continue unchecked, with entire populations paying the price. That is not mere rhetoric; it is reflected in the crimes committed against civilians in Gaza and Lebanon. More than 43,000 Palestinians and 2,500 Lebanese lives have already been lost owing to the cracks in a global order increasingly failing to uphold its promises. Brazil has been vocal in calling for an end to the escalating violence in the Middle East. Since our presidency of the Security Council in October last year, when Israel was struck by a terrorist attack, we have witnessed a relentless descent into violence. Israel’s response to 7 October 2023 has gone far beyond any sense of proportion. More bombs have fallen on Gaza than on Dresden, Hamburg and London during the Second World War. That is not self-defence; it is collective punishment and obliteration. We have all witnessed blatant and routine violations of international humanitarian law in Gaza. Civilian areas are indiscriminately and disproportionately targeted in military operations, leading to the destruction of critical infrastructure and the suffering of innocent people. Famine and disease are spreading as the supply of basic necessities is severed. Even those protected under the Geneva Conventions — humanitarian workers, doctors and health personnel — are being killed. Journalists have been shot, and their news outlets have been silenced. The International Court of Justice issued provisional measures directing Israel to halt actions that may violate the Genocide Convention and to facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid. In addition, resolution 2735 (2024) demands a full ceasefire, the withdrawal of Israeli forces from densely populated areas in Gaza and the safe return of Palestinian civilians to their homes. Those are not recommendations; they are binding obligations under international law. When mandatory directives from the highest legal and political bodies are ignored with impunity, it signals a dangerous unravelling of global governance. The consequence of that disregard is more loss of life and unimaginable destruction. When I previously addressed the Council a month ago (see S/PV.9732), I warned that Lebanon stood on the edge of a conflict. Today we mourn the loss of thousands of innocent lives, including two Brazilian teenagers. In just 30 days, the number of displaced people in Lebanon has multiplied tenfold. Since I last sat in this chair, I have been engaged in the urgent task of repatriating thousands of our dual nationals from Lebanon, completing nine rescue flights by Brazilian Air Force planes amid increasing security risks, including Israeli air strikes deep in Lebanese territory. Thousands more await repatriation. The expansion of the war from Gaza to Lebanon shows a familiar pattern of disregard for the law. Assaults against the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) and now the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) are a brazen repudiation of the multilateral system and everything the Charter of the United Nations represents. This is not the first time UNIFIL has come under fire. We must not forget the 1996 shelling by Israel of the UNIFIL compound in Qana, where 106 civilians who had sought refuge there were killed. That tragedy serves as a critical lesson of what happens when the international community allows such violations to go unpunished. When we fail to hold perpetrators accountable, we pave the way for history to repeat itself. That is why Brazil condemns in the strongest terms the recent deliberate attacks against the peacekeeping mission’s personnel and infrastructure in Lebanon. Brazil also condemns the decision taken in the Knesset yesterday to pass laws against UNRWA. By attempting to dismantle vital services for Palestinians, those laws deepen the suffering of an already devastated people and run counter to the request of the International Court of Justice that Israel facilitate access to humanitarian assistance to Gazans. Efforts to undermine UNRWA are not just attacks on an institution, but on the very survival and dignity of the Palestinian people. Targeting UNRWA will neither remove the refugee status of the Palestinian people nor the responsibility of the international community to protect those in need. We must reject that law for what it is — a dangerous precedent that undermines multilateralism and paves the way for further erosion of the global order. When international law is violated, those responsible must face consequences. It is our duty, as States Members of the United Nations, to ensure that justice be enforced, investigations be carried out, responsibility be attributed and penalties be imposed to prevent impunity and uphold the rule of law. We must uphold justice, not just call for it. In the face of a plausible case of genocide and the indiscriminate targeting of civilians, the international community can no longer be complicit by providing weapons that enable such crimes. The same holds true for weapons that prolong the illegal occupation of the Palestinian territories. We cannot allow the veto to become a shield for impunity. Every time the Council meets to discuss the Middle East, the situation grows direr. New front lines emerge, more innocent lives are lost and the crisis deepens. The recent attacks on Iran serve only to underscore the escalating risk of a regional catastrophe. We are sliding towards a world where future generations will inherit nothing but a legacy of endless conflict and suffering. How many more innocent lives will we count the next time that we convene? How much more suffering will we allow? War will not bring peace to the Middle East. Peace will come through a decisive commitment to diplomacy, rooted in justice and respect for international law. As we grapple with the escalating violence and the expansion of conflict, President Lula da Silva’s call for a review of the United Nations Charter resonates more urgently than ever. We owe it to future generations to ensure that this organ has the strength and mandate to uphold justice, protect humankind and secure lasting peace. It is time to take the bold steps needed to make peace not just an aspiration, but a reality for all.

I now give the floor to the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Cuba.

We support the statements to be delivered by the representatives of Uganda, on behalf of the Movement of Non-Aligned Countries; Mauritania, on behalf of the Group of Arab States; Cameroon, on behalf of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation; and Senegal, as Chair of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People. It is inconceivable that, more than a year after it began, the Security Council has not stopped the genocide being committed against the Palestinian people. More than 43,000 Palestinians, 70 per cent of them women and children, have been massacred. More than 2,500 people in Lebanon have been killed. Those numbers are growing at an exponential rate. Far from establishing an immediate and permanent ceasefire, Israel has continued to attack hospitals, schools and refugee camps in the occupied Palestinian territories, in flagrant violation of international humanitarian law. Far from establishing a ceasefire, the conflict is spreading in the Middle East region, with the aggression spilling over into Lebanon, with indiscriminate bombings in Syria and Yemen and a new and dangerous escalation directed against the Islamic Republic of Iran. The Israeli Government has lashed out against and denigrated the United Nations and the Secretary- General, has undermined the security of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon and has continued the deadliest attacks ever on United Nations personnel and humanitarian workers in Gaza. The occupying Power continues to hinder the delivery of humanitarian assistance to the Palestinian people. In addition to violating the Charter of the United Nations and Israel’s obligations under international law, the recent adoption by the Knesset of a law prohibiting the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East from carrying out all activities in the occupied Palestinian territories will deepen the suffering of the Palestinian people. How many more women and children have to be slaughtered before the international community acts, ends the aggression and the illegal occupation and provides urgently needed international protection for the Palestinian people? How much more destruction must be meted out before — instead of speeches and rhetorical flourishes of support — practical steps are taken against the genocide under way? The impunity with which the Israeli Government continues to act is not only evidence of the ineffectiveness of the Security Council, but it undermines multilateralism and the very essence of the Charter and international law. It also means that the Palestinian people are truly facing an existential threat. It means that more innocent victims will continue to be killed, maimed, detained and displaced. Such impunity is made possible only through the complicit political, military, logistical and financial support provided to the occupying Power by the Government of the United States, which acts according to double standards and prevents the Security Council from taking action. Achieving peace in the Middle East will be impossible without a just solution to the Palestinian question, which the Israeli Government is trying to prevent through every means possible in destroying the State of Palestine and obviating the establishment of two States. Establishing a sovereign and independent Palestinian State will be impossible without the inclusion of Gaza and the pre-1967 borders, as it will be impossible without East Jerusalem as its capital and the return of refugees. The International Court of Justice, at the request of the General Assembly, has handed down a clear decision: Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory and the denial of its people’s right to self-determination are unlawful and in violation of international law. The immediate and unconditional admission of Palestine as a State Member of the United Nations is a crucial step towards a definitive solution to the conflict. Why must Palestine continue to wait to become a full Member of the United Nations, when Israel did so 75 years ago pursuant to a resolution (General Assembly resolution 181 (II)) that provided for the creation of two States? In order to achieve peace and stability in the region, the total and unconditional withdrawal of Israel from the Syrian Golan and all occupied Arab territories is also imperative. We demand a halt to acts of aggression against the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the brotherly nations of the Middle East. External interference in the region must cease. We reiterate the call for an immediate and unconditional end to the arbitrary and illegal unilateral coercive measures imposed by the United States against sovereign countries in the Middle East. Cuba will continue to contribute to all legitimate international efforts that contribute to a just, comprehensive and lasting solution to the conflict in the Middle East. The concerted action of all Governments and peoples of the world is urgently needed to stop the aggression of the Israeli Government. Every minute that we stand idle will cost new innocent lives, greater suffering and destruction. Cuba will never be indifferent to injustice. The Palestinian cause and the brotherly nations of the region will always be able to count on our firm solidarity and support.

I now give the floor to the representative of Lebanon.

We thank Switzerland for organizing this open debate on the situation in the Middle East, and we welcome the participation of His Excellency Mr. Ignazio Cassis, Head of the Federal Department for Foreign Affairs of Switzerland. We also thank Mr. Tor Wennesland for his briefing. /Over a year has passed since the events of 7 October 2023. The fighting continues. The cycle of killing, destruction and displacement has expanded. The Council has been unable to impose a ceasefire in Gaza. The aggression has expanded to include Lebanon. They are bombing Lebanon using the worst, most lethal and most destructive types of weapons. Our women, children and paramedics are being targeted with bunker-busting bombs, vacuum bombs and explosive drones. The number of those killed is in the thousands. The international community remains silent, perhaps desensitized by the thousands who have been killed in Gaza. It is no longer moved by the bloodshed or images of body parts. The credibility of the United Nations and of the Council is on the line. All of the Council’s resolutions on the Middle East are still not implemented. The humanitarian situation is difficult. Indeed, it is catastrophic. Over the past few weeks, more than 1.4 million Lebanese people have become internally displaced after fleeing the bombing, killing and destruction. The Israeli killing machine spares no one. Overnight, families lose their normal lives, homes, memories and hopes. They have fled to shelters seeking security and safety. Israel was able to rob them of their homes, memories and hopes, but it cannot take away their will to live and resist. The killing machine, which has killed children, women and the elderly, recently began to target journalists, paramedics and medical personnel. They are targeting hospitals. They are targeting cultural and historic sites, such as Baalbek and Tyre. With blind hatred, they are bombing history and international civilization and heritage. Those acts can be described only as war crimes and crimes against humanity. In a desperate attempt by Israel to “kill the solution”, it has deliberately targeted locations of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) and the Lebanese army. Israel is trying to destroy resolution 1701 (2006) to invade territory and prompt the evacuation of UNIFIL and Lebanese army positions, so as to facilitate that invasion. We would like to thank France and the French President for organizing the Paris International Conference in Support of Lebanon’s People and Sovereignty on 24 October. We also thank all the countries that participated and the States and international organizations that made pledges. The needs are immense. The challenges are many. And the reality is bitter. Lebanon has endured a great burden when it comes to displacement; and it cannot confront internal displacement on its own. We are relying on everyone’s assistance and, from the bottom of our hearts, we thank all the countries that are helping us to face this humanitarian tragedy. All of these atrocities could have been avoided. All these massacres could have been stopped. These sacrifices are enough to compel everyone to go back to reason and reality. The solution is clear and direct. It was produced by the Council. The solution lies in resolution 1701 (2006) — to put an end to the acts of aggression, to guarantee the deployment of the Lebanese army, to withdraw weapons and to achieve stability. It is not a magic formula. There is no supernatural solution. We will not be reinventing the wheel. This solution would spare us bloodshed, destruction and senseless acts. And Israel’s acts can be described only as senseless. The Government and the people of Lebanon do not want war. We want the implementation of resolution 1701 (2006) in its entirety. The international community wants the implementation of resolution 1701 (2006). The Security Council wants the implementation of resolution 1701 (2006). The mediators are present around the table. They have been providing solutions for the past 13 months. However, on the other side there is a party that does not want a solution, but rather to sacrifice additional lives and to continue the war for a single reason, that is, ambition and personal agendas. If they wanted to give precedence to the interests of their people, they would have ended the war immediately, avoided the bloodshed and implemented the resolution. Lebanon emphasizes the need to implement resolution 1701 (2006) in its entirety. The Lebanese Foreign Minister provided steps for the implementation process: first, Israel’s withdrawal from all Lebanese territory occupied during its latest aggression and a return to its side of the border, in line with the 1949 Armistice Agreement; secondly, extending the deployment of the Lebanese army south of the Litani River and along the southern border so that there are no weapons there other than those approved by the Government of Lebanon or any authority other than that of the Government of Lebanon, in line with resolution 1701 (2006); thirdly, ensuring the return of IDPs to their villages and homes; fourthly, resuming the currently paused indirect negotiations under the auspices of the United Nations and with the participation of one or more international mediators to resolve pending points, in line with resolution 1701 (2006); and fifthly, beginning a serious negotiation process, with a specified timeline, for the return of the Sheba’a Farms, the Kfar Shouba Hills and point B1 in Ras Naqoura, so as to rebuild what was destroyed, restore agricultural land contaminated with white phosphorus and remove any remnants of the aggression against Lebanon. That will enable us to provide a decent life to the citizens of south Lebanon, as well allow us at last to provide financial and technical assistance to enhance the capacity of the Lebanese State, including both civilian and military institutions. Over the past 80 years, the United Nations and its agencies have put in place principles and conventions to regulate and order international relations. However, over the past 13 months, Israel has destroyed all those frameworks, conventions and laws. It has behaved like a child who has been spoiled so much that it destroys everything. After everything that has happened, how can they call for the implementation of those laws and conventions? There are very clearly double standards at play here. Even wars have rules and restrictions, as set out by international law and international humanitarian law. Unfortunately, Israel continues to ignore the principles of international humanitarian law and the laws of war. We will provide you with a copy of the Charter of the United Nations, Mr. President, so that you can share it with Israel. We hope that you will remind Israel of the provisions of international humanitarian law, including the Geneva Conventions. Maybe then they will respect them. In conclusion, it is our legitimate right to respond to what was said at the previous meeting (see S/PV.9762). We therefore say to everyone that our natural place is behind the name plate of the Lebanese Republic. We will defend our country and the rights of our people. And we will defend the Lebanese flag and our cedars.

There are still a number of speakers remaining on my list for this meeting. Given the lateness of the hour, I intend, with the concurrence of members of the Council, to suspend the meeting until 3 p.m.