Last Updated: November 06, 2023, 10:59 IST
New York, United States of America (USA)
The United States put forward a draft resolution earlier as global outcry grew over a worsening humanitarian crisis and mounting civilian death toll in Gaza. (Reuters File Photo)
Israel-Hamas war: Heads of 11 UN agencies and six humanitarian groups issued a joint plea for an immediate humanitarian cease-fire in Gaza
The UN Security Council (UNSC) is set to hold another emergency meeting on November 6 amid the worsening situation in Gaza, as Israeli forces intensify their military campaign to eliminate Hamas.
“In light of the worsening situation in Gaza and the attack on the Al-Shifa Hospital and repeated attacks on Jabalia refugee camp, the UAE and China called for closed consultations to be convened tomorrow 6 November at 3 p.m.,” a spokesperson for the UAE’s mission to the UN tweets.
In light of the worsening situation in Gaza and the attack on the Al-Shifa Hospital and repeated attacks on Jabalia refugee camp, the UAE and China called for closed consultations to be convened tomorrow 6 November at 3pm. pic.twitter.com/PZR0rh6y6V— Shahad Matar (@UAEUNSpox) November 6, 2023
Since the start of the war, divisions in the Security Council have prevented the body from doing more than holding meetings to talk about the war. Following four failed efforts to reach a consensus on a Gaza resolution, the UN Security Council discussed the ongoing crisis in an emergency session last Monday. During that meeting, Security Council members recalled the General Assembly resolution on the crisis.
Read More: ‘World Watching in Horror, Enough is Enough’: UN Agency Chiefs on Israel-Hamas War
‘Killings of Gaza civilians outrage’
In a statement issued Sunday night, the heads of 11 UN agencies and six humanitarian organisations issued a joint plea for an immediate humanitarian cease-fire in Gaza, the protection of civilians, and the swift entry to Gaza of food, water, medicine and fuel. They called Hamas’ surprise October 7 attacks in Israel “horrific.”
“However, the horrific killings of even more civilians in Gaza is an outrage, as is cutting off 2.2 million Palestinians from food, water, medicine, electricity and fuel,” the heads of the Inter-Agency Standing Committee on the situation in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory said.
The UN and humanitarian groups said more than 23,000 injured people need immediate treatment and hospitals are overstretched. “An entire population is besieged and under attack, denied access to the essentials for survival, bombed in their homes, shelters, hospitals and places of worship,” the joint statement said.
The UN leaders said over a hundred attacks against health care operations have been reported and 88 staff members from the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, have been reported killed – “the highest number of United Nations fatalities ever recorded in a single conflict.”
