“Even though Ramadan has begun, the killing, bombing and
bloodshed continue in Gaza...My strongest appeal today is to
honour the spirit of Ramadan by silencing the guns and
removing all obstacles to ensure the delivery of lifesaving
aid at the speed and massive scale required.”
All remaining hostages taken during Hamas-led terror attacks in
Israel on 7 October must be released immediately too, the UN
chief said, noting that the “catastrophic Israeli
onslaught in Gaza” is now in its sixth month.
Reiterating his call to the warring parties to halt the war, Mr.
Guterres highlighted the same compelling appeal from
the families of victims who visited the UN in New York
recently.
“As one of those family members said, ‘We are not here for
condolences. We are not here for apologies. We are here for
immediate action.’”
Northern Gaza anxiety
It has been nearly six weeks since the UN agency for Palestinian
refugees (UNRWA) managed to deliver
aid to northern Gaza. “People are very, very
anxious,” said spokesperson Juliette Touma on X,
formerly Twitter.
“There should be more humanitarian assistance coming in via road
including through UNRWA because we have the largest footprint on
the ground and we know how to do this.”
Maritime corridor
In a related development, a non-governmental organization (NGO)
ship laden with desperately-needed aid for northern Gaza waited
to set sail from Cyprus on Monday to provide further relief to
the many hundreds of thousands of people facing extreme hunger.
UN-partnered efforts to open a safe maritime corridor to Gaza
were announced on Friday by the European Commission, United Arab
Emirates, United States, United Kingdom and others in close
coordination with the UN’s Senior Humanitarian Coordinator for
the enclave, Sigrid Kaag.
Safe harbour
Carrying around 200 tonnes of food, the international NGO vessel
Open Arms remained anchored at Larnaca in southeast Cyprus, some
200 nautical miles from Gaza, reportedly awaiting permission to
dock from the Israeli authorities.
In a related development, the Cypriot Government acknowledged US
President Joe Biden’s announcement last Thursday that Washington
would build a temporary pier off Gaza’s coastline to help deliver
aid. Media reports indicated that it would take at least two
months to complete.
Needs are critical across the enclave, but remain particularly
dire in the north, where UN humanitarians have warned repeatedly
that some 300,000 Gazans have been almost cut off from
humanitarian relief amid insecurity linked to a breakdown in
civil order and multiple access refusals by Israeli authorities.
Northern hospitals lifeline
Echoing the UN chief’s ceasefire call, the UN World Health
Organization (WHO) said that it had
reached two hospitals in northern Gaza at the
weekend with supplies, including trauma items for 150
patients and 13,000 litres of fuel to Al-Ahil Arab Hospital and
12,000 litres of fuel to Al-Sahaba Hospital.
But, medical teams there lack a long list of basics to do their
work, including “food, fuel, specialised staff, anaesthetic
drugs, antibiotics and internal fixation devices”, said WHO head
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on Sunday.
“We need sustained, safe access to health facilities in order to
supply them with urgently needed lifesaving healthcare on a
regular basis,” he insisted, ending his message with:
“ceasefire”.
According to the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), malnutrition among
youngsters is extreme, with at least 18 children dead from hunger
and dehydration in the north of the Strip to date. Meanwhile, the
UN Population Fund (UNFPA) warned that pregnant
and breastfeeding women were also seeing spiralling levels of
malnutrition in the enclave.
