KUALA LUMPUR – Amid the two-day Israel-Hamas truce extension, the United Nations and Middle East leaders have called for a true ceasefire to protect civilians and allow unrestricted aid to enter the Gaza Strip.
The “epic humanitarian catastrophe” that is taking place has breached international humanitarian law, and failure to broker long-lasting peace will condemn the region “to a never-ending cycle of death and destruction”, UN secretary-general António Guterres told the Security Council.
“Intense negotiations are taking place to prolong the truce – which we strongly welcome – but we believe we need a true humanitarian ceasefire.
“And we must ensure the people of the region finally have a horizon of hope – by moving in a determined and irreversible way towards establishing a two-state solution, on the basis of United Nations resolutions and international law, with Israel and Palestine living side-by-side in peace and security.”
He added that 80% of Gaza’s people have been forced from their homes into an ever-smaller area of southern Gaza, and an estimated 45% of all homes have been damaged or destroyed.
Currently, UN facilities are sheltering more than one million civilians, despite the damage sustained during the bombardment.
“A total of 218 internally displaced people sheltering in UNRWA schools have reportedly been killed and at least 894 injured. 111 members of our UN family have been killed in Gaza. This represents the largest loss of personnel in the history of our organisation.”
“Nowhere is safe in Gaza.”
After the Security Council meeting, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud told reporters about the need for a ceasefire because, when the truce expires, there will be a return to “the killing at the scale that we have seen”.
He also said that Saudi Arabia stands with counterparts from Egypt, Qatar, Jordan, Turkey, Indonesia, and Malaysia that aid entering Gaza is “far less than is needed”.
Meanwhile, Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki told the Security Council that the truce must become a permanent ceasefire and the massacres must stop.
“Our people are faced with an existential threat. Make no mistake about it. With all the talk about the destruction of Israel, it is Palestine that is facing a plan to destroy it, implemented in broad daylight.”
As for US ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield, she said her country has urged Israel to take every possible measure to prevent civilian casualties as it exercises its rights to safeguard its people from acts of terror.
In addition, Israel’s UN ambassador, Gilad Erdan, accused his counterparts of supporting Hamas, which he described as “a terror organisation that aims to annihilate Israel”.
“Anyone who supports a ceasefire basically supports Hamas’ continued reign of terror in Gaza. Hamas is a genocidal terror organisation – they don’t hide it – not a reliable partner for peace.”
As for Hamas, its official, Ghazi Hamad, told Al Jazeera that he hoped the truce could be extended if the group were to release more captives
“We want to end the war. We are on a temporary ceasefire, but we are trying to extend it. There is lots of support from Qatar, Egypt, and many Western governments to end this catastrophe.”
More than 15,000 people in Palestine have been killed since the conflict started on October 7, and about 40% of them are under the age of 18.
Israel had said that 1,200 of its people were killed. – December 1, 2023