December 22, 2023
Thank you, Mr. President. And thank you fellow Council colleagues. This was tough, but we got there.
Since the start of this conflict, the United States has done work tirelessly to alleviate this humanitarian crisis; to get life-saving assistance into Gaza; and to get hostages out of Gaza; to push for the protection of innocent civilians and humanitarian workers; and to work towards a lasting peace.
Today’s vote bolsters those efforts and lends support to our direct diplomacy. And I want to thank the UAE and others for working with us in good faith to craft a strong, humanitarian-focused resolution.
It took many days, and many, many long nights of negotiating to get this right, but today, this Council provided a glimmer of hope amongst a sea of unimaginable suffering. Today, this Council called for urgent steps to immediately allow safe, unhindered, and expanded humanitarian access and to create the conditions for a sustainable cessation of hostilities.
I’ll note that this is the first time this Council has used this language. Language we believe is critical to scaling up aid and underscoring the tough steps ahead, as we work together to achieve a lasting peace.
Colleagues, today, this Council made clear that addressing the humanitarian crisis in Gaza needs to remain at the forefront of our agenda. Today, this Council made clear that all hostages must be released immediately and unconditionally and that humanitarian groups must be able to access hostages, including for medical visits.
Today, this Council made clear that all parties must respect international humanitarian law. Today, this Council made clear that civilian and humanitarian facilities, including hospitals, medical facilities, schools, places of worship, and UN facilities, as well as humanitarian personnel and medical personnel, must be protected.
This applies to all parties to this conflict. To Israel. But also, to Hamas, a terror group that instigated this conflict and that wages war from inside homes and hospitals and UN sites and uses innocent civilians as human shields, an act of cowardice and cruelty.
Colleagues, today, this Council made clear the need to ensure humanitarian personnel and assistance, including fuel, food, medical supplies, and emergency shelter assistance can reach people in need.
It is hard to overstate how urgent this is. Just yesterday, humanitarian groups released a report on the dire food security crisis in Gaza and the word famine has started to enter the vocabulary of humanitarian leaders I’ve met with. Surgeries are being performed without anesthesia, people are huddled in over-crowded UN shelters, others are sleeping in the streets.
This resolution speaks to the severity of this crisis, and it calls on us all to do more.
For our part, the United States has worked tirelessly to scale up the delivery of humanitarian aid through direct, persistent, presidential diplomacy. In the beginning of this conflict, we helped secure an agreement to open the Rafah crossing. Last month, we helped secure a deal that led to an extended humanitarian pause during which more than 100 hostages were released and additional aid got into Gaza. And last week, we helped secure the opening of the crossing at Kerem Shalom for direct delivery of assistance to civilians in Gaza.
This resolution puts the weight of the Security Council behind these efforts and bolsters them by calling for the appointment of a senior UN official, who will work to expedite the delivery of humanitarian aid at scale and in a sustained way.
We know humanitarians are already doing the impossible, and we’re there to do everything in our power to support their life-saving work. It is vital that, when implementing this resolution, the UN builds on the progress we have seen on the ground. And we look forward to this new official working with humanitarian actors and relevant parties, including Israel.
We know so much, so much more needs to be done to address this humanitarian crisis and to lay the groundwork for a lasting peace.
And let’s be clear: Hamas has no interest in a lasting peace. Hamas is determined to repeat the horrors of October 7th over and over and over again. And that is why the United States supports Israel’s right to protect its people from acts of terror.
And I’ll note that the resolution does not support any steps that would leave Hamas in power which, in turn, would undermine the prospects for a two-state solution where Gaza and the West Bank are reunited under a single governance structure, under a revamped and revitalized Palestinian Authority.
We must – Colleagues – we must work towards a future where Israelis and Palestinians live side-by-side in peace. This is the only way forward.
Ultimately, while we are encouraged that the Council spoke out on this humanitarian crisis, we are deeply disappointed – appalled, actually – that, once again, the Council was not able to condemn Hamas’ horrific terrorist attack on October 7th. And I can’t understand why some Council members are standing in the way, and why they refuse to condemn these evils unequivocally. Why is it so hard to condemn Hamas for slaughtering young people at a concert, for burning families alive, for the reports of widespread sexual violence? Why? I will never understand why some Council members have remained silent in the face of such evil.
Colleagues, we also believe this Council must continue to put its support behind the resumption of humanitarian pauses. Israel has made clear that it’s committed to reaching another agreement. This is now entirely up to Hamas. Hamas must agree to additional pauses. That is how we can get additional aid in and save lives and additional hostages out immediately.
Today, this Council spoke out, but we know that only progress on the ground can turn these words into action. So, the United States will continue to work with the UN, with humanitarian groups, and countries in the region to get more humanitarian aid into Gaza, to secure the release of hostages, and to work towards a lasting peace.
There is not time to waste. We must find a path forward to end the misery we are seeing. It’s unbearable to see a Palestinian child shivering in fear after their home was destroyed. It’s unbearable to see the families of hostages experience such pain and grief as they frantically await and pray for their loved ones return. My heart is filled with pain, and I know the same is true for so many people around the world. So, we must work together to alleviate this tremendous suffering once and for all.
Thank you.