The United Nations chief Antonio Guterres expressed deeply concerned about the clear violations of international humanitarian law being witnessed in Gaza. He urged an immediate ceasefire as Israel pounds the Palestinian territory in response to Hamas attacks, with the crisis deeply dividing the Security Council.
Earlier, the UN’s agency looking after Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) said it could be forced to end operations in the Gaza Strip “as of tomorrow night” if more fuel doesn’t arrive Israel has laid siege to Gaza for more than two weeks. Some supplies reached the territory over the weekend, though no fuel – and Israel has accused Hamas of stockpiling it. Israel has continued its heavy bombing of Gaza the Hamas-run health ministry says almost 5,800 have been killed since 7 October
The UN agency for Palestinian refugees warned it would be forced to stop working across the Gaza Strip unless there were urgent fuel deliveries to the war-torn territory. In a statement on the social media, handler X, formerly Twitter, the UN agency spokesperson said they do not get fuel urgently and will be forced to halt operations in the Gaza Strip.
Aid agencies have sounded the alarm about the lack of fuel, which is used to power vital services in Gaza such as hospitals which are relying on generators. the World Health Organization said Six hospitals across Gaza have already shut down due to the lack of fuel,
Speaking at the UN headquarters, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned the limited supplies amounted to “a drop of aid in an ocean of need.the UN chief asserted that without fuel, aid cannot be delivered, hospitals will not have power, and drinking water cannot be purified or even pumped.
On the other hand, French President Emmanuel Macron, on a solidarity visit to Israel after the October 7 attacks, called for international community action against Hamas. US President Joe Biden, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz raised similar concerns during visits to Israel over the past week.
However, International responses to the October 7 Hamas attack were broadly split between the Global North and South over condemnations of the killings of just Israeli civilians in the terror attack or all civilians in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. But as the Gaza humanitarian situation continues to deteriorate, divisions are increasing within the West.
From the Global South perspective, economic and geostrategic interests drove the splits over the Ukraine war. The Israeli-Palestinian divide is driven by emotional baggage and for countries that emerged after World War II, patience is running out. It’s more about the West is hypocritical and gives priority not so much to their interests as their own feelings.
The West has special feelings for Israel and Israeli interests, Israeli pain, in emotional terms. In the Global South, this is seen as selective emotion and selective rules of the game.
The World Bank warned the war could deliver a serious blow to global economic development. The ongoing massacres being deliberately and systematically and savagely perpetrated by the occupying power Israel against the Palestinian civilian population under illegal occupation must be stopped.
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