NNA ndash; Following are UN Secretary-General Antoacute;nio Guterresrsquo; remarks to the Security Council on the situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian Question:nbsp;
quot;Mr. President,nbsp;
Thank you for conveningnbsp;this Security Council meeting in response to my letter of 6 December on the situation in Gaza and Israel.nbsp;
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Mr. President,nbsp;Excellencies,
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I wrote to the Securitynbsp;Councilnbsp;invokingnbsp;Article 99nbsp;becausenbsp;we arenbsp;atnbsp;anbsp;breaking point.nbsp;
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There is a high risk of the total collapse of the humanitarian support system in Gaza, which would have devastating consequences.nbsp;
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We anticipate that it would result in a complete breakdown of public order and increased pressure for mass displacement into Egypt.nbsp;
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I fear the consequences could be devastating for the security of the entire region.
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We have already seen thenbsp;spillover in thenbsp;Occupiednbsp;West Bank, Lebanon, Syria,nbsp;Iraqnbsp;and Yemen.nbsp;
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There is clearly, in my view, a serious risk of aggravating existing threats to the maintenance of international peace and security.nbsp;
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The risk of collapse of the humanitarian system is fundamentally linked with a complete lack of safety and security for our staff in Gaza, and with the nature and intensity of military operations, which are severely limiting access to people in desperate need.nbsp;
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The threat to the safety and security ofnbsp;United Nationsnbsp;staff in Gaza is unprecedented.nbsp;
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More than 130nbsp;of my colleaguesnbsp;have already been killed, many with their families.nbsp;
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This is the largestnbsp;singlenbsp;loss of life in the history of ournbsp;Organization.
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Some of our staff take their children to work so they know theynbsp;will live ornbsp;die together.nbsp;
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Colleagues have sharednbsp;heartbreaking messages from staff membersnbsp;pleading for help.
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The Under-Secretary-General of the Department of Safety and Securitynbsp;has advised me that all possible means of mitigating the risk to staffnbsp;within Gaza, short of evacuation, are closed off, because of the way this conflict has evolved.nbsp;
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I cannot emphasize strongly enough thatnbsp;the UN isnbsp;totally committed to stay and deliver for the people of Gaza.nbsp;
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I pay tribute tonbsp;thenbsp;heroicnbsp;humanitarian aid workersnbsp;whonbsp;remain committed to their work,nbsp;despite the enormous dangersnbsp;to theirnbsp;health and theirnbsp;lives.
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Butnbsp;the situationnbsp;is simplynbsp;becomingnbsp;untenable.nbsp;
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This Council called in Resolution 2712 for ldquo;the scaling up of the provision of such supplies to meet the humanitarian needs of the civilian population, especially childrenrdquo;.nbsp;
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Inbsp;deeplynbsp;regret to inform the Council thatnbsp;under currentconditions on the ground,nbsp;thenbsp;fulfilment of this mandatenbsp;hasnbsp;become impossible.
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The conditions for thenbsp;effectivenbsp;delivery of humanitarian aid no longer exist.nbsp;
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The crossing point at Rafah was not designed for hundreds of trucks and is a major bottleneck.nbsp;
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But even if sufficient supplies were permitted into Gaza, intense bombardment and hostilities, Israeli restrictions on movement, fuelnbsp;shortages, andnbsp;interrupted communications, make it impossible for UN agencies and their partners to reach mostnbsp;of thenbsp;people in need.nbsp;
nbsp;
Between 3 andnbsp;5nbsp;Decembernbsp;ndash; the two days preceding my letter ndash; thenbsp;UN couldnbsp;only distributenbsp;aidnbsp;in one of Gazarsquo;s five governorates ndash; Rafah.nbsp;
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Elsewhere, access was impossible.nbsp;
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People are desperate,nbsp;fearfulnbsp;and angry. In some cases, they have expressed that angernbsp;towardsnbsp;our staff.nbsp;
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Mr. President,nbsp;
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All this takes placenbsp;amidnbsp;a spiraling humanitarian nightmare. nbsp;
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First, there is no effective protection of civilians.nbsp;
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More than 17,000nbsp;Palestiniansnbsp;have reportedly been killed since the start of Israelrsquo;s military operations. This includes more than 4,000 women and 7,000 children. Tens of thousandsnbsp;are reported tonbsp;have been injured, and manynbsp;are missing, presumably under the rubble. nbsp;
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All these numbers are increasingnbsp;by the day.nbsp;
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Attacksnbsp;from air, land and seanbsp;arenbsp;intense,nbsp;continuousnbsp;and widespread. So far,nbsp;they havenbsp;reportedlynbsp;hit 339 education facilities, 26 hospitals, 56 healthcare facilities, 88 mosques and three churches.nbsp;
Over 60 percent of Gazarsquo;s housingnbsp;hasnbsp;reportedly been destroyed or damaged ndash; some 300,000 houses and apartments.nbsp;
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Some 85 percent of the populationnbsp;have been forced from their homes.nbsp;
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The people of Gaza are being told to move like human pinballs ndash; ricocheting between ever-smaller slivers of the south, without any of the basics for survival.nbsp;
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But nowhere in Gaza is safe.nbsp;
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At least 88 UNRWA shelters have been hit, killing over 270nbsp;peoplenbsp;andnbsp;injuringnbsp;over 900.nbsp;
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Conditions in shelters arenbsp;overcrowdednbsp;and unsanitary.nbsp;People nurse open wounds.nbsp;Hundreds of people stand in line for hours to use one shower or toilet.nbsp;
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Families who have lost everything sleep onnbsp;barenbsp;concretenbsp;floors, wearingnbsp;clothes they havenbsp;not changednbsp;for two months.nbsp;
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Tens of thousands ofnbsp;Palestiniansnbsp;arrived in Rafah in recent days, overwhelming sheltersnbsp;there.nbsp;
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Many displaced familiesnbsp;ndash; including children, older people, pregnantnbsp;womennbsp;and people with disabilities ndash; arenbsp;sleeping in streets and public spaces across the city.nbsp;
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Mr. President,nbsp;
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Second, Gazans are running out of food.nbsp;
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According to the World Foodnbsp;Programme,nbsp;therenbsp;is a serious risk of starvation and famine.nbsp;
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In northern Gaza, 97nbsp;percent of householdsnbsp;are not eating enough.nbsp;In the south, thenbsp;figurenbsp;among displaced peoplenbsp;isnbsp;83 percent.nbsp;Half the people of the north and more than one thirdnbsp;of displaced peoplenbsp;in the south arenbsp;simply starving.nbsp;
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WFPrsquo;snbsp;ownnbsp;food stocks arenbsp;running out.nbsp;
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In the north, nine out of tennbsp;peoplenbsp;have spent at leastnbsp;one full day and night without food.nbsp;
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The last functioning flour mill in Gaza was destroyed on 15 November.nbsp;
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WFP has provided food and cash assistance tonbsp;hundreds of thousands of peoplenbsp;across Gaza since the crisisnbsp;began, andnbsp;isnbsp;ready to scale upnbsp;its operations.
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However,nbsp;that would requirenbsp;effective access to all people in need, andnbsp;at least 40 trucks of foodnbsp;suppliesnbsp;every daynbsp;ndash;nbsp;many times the current level.nbsp;
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Mr. President,nbsp;
Third,nbsp;Gazarsquo;snbsp;health systemnbsp;is collapsingnbsp;while needs are escalating.
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At least 286 health workers have been killed.nbsp;
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Hospitals have suffered heavy bombardment.nbsp;Just 14nbsp;out of 36 are still functioning.nbsp;Of these, three are providing basic first aid, while the others are delivering partial services.nbsp;
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The European Gaza Hospital, one ofnbsp;thenbsp;two main hospitals in southern Gaza,nbsp;has 370 beds. It is currently housing 1000 patients and an estimated 70,000 people seeking shelter.nbsp;
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There are critical shortages of drugs, blood products and medical supplies. Fuelnbsp;to runnbsp;the hospitals is severely rationed.nbsp;Many patients are being treated on the floornbsp;and without anesthetics.nbsp;
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As patients with life-threatening injuries continue to arrive, wards arenbsp;overflowingnbsp;and staff are overwhelmed.nbsp;
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At the same time,nbsp;thenbsp;unsanitary conditions in shelters and severe shortages of food and water are leading tonbsp;increases in respiratory infections, scabies,nbsp;jaundicenbsp;and diarrhea.nbsp;
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Everything I have just describednbsp;represents an unprecedented situation thatnbsp;lednbsp;to my unprecedentednbsp;decision to invoke Article 99, urgingnbsp;thenbsp;members of thenbsp;Security Council to press to avert a humanitarian catastrophe, and appealingnbsp;for a humanitarian ceasefirenbsp;to be declared.
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Mr. President,nbsp;
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We are all aware thatnbsp;Israel began its military operation in response to the brutal terror attacks unleashed by Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups on 7 October.nbsp;
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I unreservedly condemn those attacks.nbsp;I am appalled by the reports of sexual violence.
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There is no possible justification fornbsp;deliberatelynbsp;killingnbsp;somenbsp;1,200nbsp;people, including 33 children, injuring thousands more, and taking hundreds of hostages.nbsp;
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Somenbsp;130 hostages are stillnbsp;held captive.nbsp;I call for their immediate and unconditional release,nbsp;as well as their humane treatment and visits from the International Committee of the Red Cross until they are freed.nbsp;
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At the same time,nbsp;the brutality perpetrated by Hamas can never justify the collective punishment of thenbsp;Palestiniannbsp;people.
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And whilenbsp;indiscriminate rocket fire by Hamas into Israel, and thenbsp;use of civiliansnbsp;as humannbsp;shields,nbsp;arenbsp;in contravention of the laws of war, such conduct does not absolvenbsp;Israelnbsp;of itsnbsp;ownviolations.
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Internationalnbsp;humanitariannbsp;law includesnbsp;thenbsp;duty tonbsp;protect civilians and tonbsp;comply with the principles of distinction,nbsp;proportionalitynbsp;and precaution.nbsp;
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The laws of war also demand that civiliansrsquo; essential needs must be met, including by facilitating the unimpeded deliverynbsp;ofnbsp;humanitarian relief.
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International humanitarian law cannot be applied selectively.nbsp;It isnbsp;binding on all parties equally at all times, and the obligation to observe it does not depend on reciprocity. nbsp;
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Mr. President,nbsp;
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Thenbsp;people of Gaza arenbsp;looking into the abyss.nbsp;
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Thenbsp;international communitynbsp;mustnbsp;donbsp;everythingnbsp;possiblenbsp;to endnbsp;their ordeal.
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I urge the Councilnbsp;tonbsp;spare no effortnbsp;to push for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire, for the protection of civilians,nbsp;and for the urgent delivery of lifesaving aid.
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While we deal with the current crisis, we cannot lose sight of the only viable possibility for a peaceful future: a two-State solution,nbsp;on the basis ofnbsp;United Nations resolutions and international law, with Israel and Palestine living side-by-side in peace and security.nbsp;
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This is vital for Israelis, Palestinians, andnbsp;for international peace and security.nbsp;
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The eyes of the world ndash; and the eyes of historynbsp;ndash; arenbsp;watching. nbsp;
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Itrsquo;s time to act.quot; — UNIC
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