“Too many people die and are injured in places protected by international law”
That is the urgent and painful warning of the head of the United Nations agency in charge of Palestinian refugees (UNRWA). Speaking at the United Nations Security Council on October 30, Mr. Philippe Lazzarini emphasized: “The level of destruction across the Gaza Strip is unprecedented. Too many people are dead and injured in places protected by international law. I have said many times, and I will say it again: There is no safe place in Gaza.”
Mr. Philippe Lazzarini also said with pain: “The death rate of Palestinians in the West Bank is at its “highest level since the United Nations began keeping records in 2005.” As for the number of children killed, Mr. Philippe Lazzarini also said that this number is more than the number of children killed annually in conflict zones around the world since 2019.
Palestinians evacuate to avoid fighting in the Gaza Strip on October 13, 2023. Photo: THX/TTXVN
Immediately afterwards, World Health Organization (WHO) spokesman Christian Lindmeier continued to warn: “A public health disaster is imminent with mass migration, overcrowding, and damage to water and sanitation infrastructure.”
A few days earlier, Dr. Rick Brennan - WHO's emergencies director for the Eastern Mediterranean region had to exclaim in pain: " We are on our knees begging for humanitarian operations to be maintained, increased and protected" and called for "an immediate humanitarian ceasefire to allow medical supplies and fuel to be safely transported inside the Gaza Strip". The plea was made when WHO said it was still unable to distribute fuel or medical supplies to major hospitals in the northern Gaza Strip due to lack of security.
The reality in Gaza these days is even more terrible and tragic than the cries for help. There are initial statistics given by the Director of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) Catherine Russell, that more than 420 children die or are injured every day due to bombs and bullets. More than half of Gaza's 35 hospitals are no longer functioning, at least 221 schools, more than 177,000 houses are damaged, 55% of related infrastructure needs to be repaired or rebuilt. In particular, clean water and essential supplies to ensure life... after so many days of war, are still completely lacking, causing people here to fall deeper and deeper into extremely deprived living conditions.
“Basic services are collapsing, medicine, food and fuel are running out. Gaza’s streets are starting to fill with sewage. Hunger and desperation are driving people to anger the international community,” said the head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees.
Urgent need for a "humanitarian ceasefire" solution
Faced with the extreme suffering in Gaza, the international community has called for the protection of civilians and increased aid to the people of Gaza. In mid-October, tens of thousands of people in the Middle East, Asia, Europe and the United States took to the streets to protest the violence in Gaza. Leaders of many countries have also expressed their views on this issue.
On October 31, Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly called for international action to end the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip, reaffirming Cairo's stance on rejecting the policy of collective punishment against the Palestinian people. Also on October 31, Jordan's King Abdullah II had a phone call with US President Joe Biden, highlighting the importance of an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, stressing the need to ensure unhindered humanitarian aid into the Palestinian territories and calling for stepped-up efforts to end the conflict. British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak also stressed the importance of taking all possible measures to minimize casualties and protect civilians in a phone call with his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu.
Israeli soldiers patrol along the border with the Gaza Strip, October 28, 2023. Photo: THX/TTXVN
On October 26-27, at the United Nations headquarters in New York (USA), the United Nations General Assembly held the 10th Special Emergency Session to discuss the ongoing tensions in the Gaza Strip. Many countries expressed concern about the escalating tensions in Gaza, condemned the attacks that caused heavy casualties to civilians in both Israel and Palestine, and called on the parties involved to cease fire, release hostages, facilitate humanitarian aid, and protect civilians and essential civilian facilities.
Also at the Session, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Resolution “Protecting civilians and complying with legal and humanitarian obligations” calling on all parties to immediately cease fire, exercise maximum restraint, request all parties to comply with international law, international humanitarian and human rights law, protect civilians and civilian infrastructure; ensure humanitarian access; call for the immediate release of civilians, ensure their safety and humane treatment.
Above all, a “humanitarian ceasefire” solution is seen as becoming more urgent than ever in the Gaza Strip.
However, any calls for help seem unlikely as the conflict threatens to spread. Especially since the evening of October 28, when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that the second phase of the war against Hamas had begun, with the ground offensive expanding into the Gaza Strip. Netanyahu also seemed to be partially rejecting regional and international mediation efforts, even declaring that all wars have unintended “civilian casualties.”
| At the 10th special emergency session, Ambassador Dang Hoang Giang, Head of the Permanent Mission of Vietnam to the United Nations, welcomed and supported international reconciliation efforts towards a sustainable and just peace solution, emphasizing Vietnam's stance of supporting the two-state solution with East Jerusalem as the capital of the State of Palestine and the pre-1967 borders, on the basis of compliance with international law and relevant United Nations resolutions. The representative of Vietnam also called on the United Nations and the Security Council to make efforts to have a unified and constructive message to help reduce tensions, end fighting, protect civilians and support the parties to resume dialogue and negotiations. |
Nguyen Ha
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