October 9, 2024
Thank you, Madam President. And thank you, Commissioner-General Lazzarini and Director Doughten, for your briefings. I also want to take a moment to welcome the appointment of Tom Fletcher as the new Emergency Relief Coordinator and note how important it is for all of us to work very closely with him.
Colleagues, this Monday marked one year since Hamas’ horrific terror attack in Israel, murdering 1,200 innocent people, taking [254] individuals hostage, leaving their families clinging to hope, and setting into motion this horrific situation. One year since Hamas unleashed a conflict that, despite our extensive diplomatic efforts, continues to inflict tremendous suffering and pain on the Palestinian civilians in Gaza and destabilizing the region.
Tens of thousands have been killed in a conflict they did not start and cannot stop. Civilians have been displaced over and over again by the fighting. Parents don’t know where they’ll get their next meal, or if they’ll find a safe place for their babies to sleep. There are children whose earliest memories – whose only memories – are the sights and sounds of war. Who are orphaned, injured, traumatized.
And there are hostages who continue to struggle to stay alive in the squalor and darkness of Hamas’ tunnels.
It is far past time for a hostage and ceasefire deal, consistent with Resolution 2735, to bring the hostages home, allow for a surge in humanitarian aid, assure Israel’s security, end this war, and move toward a two-state solution.
But as we push for this deal, we must also continue to work to alleviate the humanitarian crisis unfolding before our eyes. Because let’s be clear: conditions are catastrophic and will further deteriorate if additional steps are not taken.
Indeed, all parties must meet their responsibilities under Resolution 2720.
The flow of humanitarian aid through multiple border crossings to Palestinian civilians is desperately needed and must be allowed.
To that end, we welcome the Council’s extension of Senior Coordinator Kaag’s reporting mandate. This will help ensure we have accurate, unfiltered information, including information about obstacles to aid deliveries.
As Senior Coordinator Kaag spoke to just the other week, UN and humanitarian personnel are pursuing life-saving work. Through their efforts, we have seen some progress, most notably with the polio vaccination campaign, carried out with the help of the WHO, UNICEF, and UNRWA.
This was a textbook example of what the UN can accomplish when it has willing partners on the ground. We need and expect the same level of coordination to extend to other urgent humanitarian efforts, including efforts to provide displaced Palestinian civilians with food, water, and resources they need to cope with the coming winter.
And so, the United States is concerned by the situation in northern Gaza, including the announcement by Israel of a new evacuation order for several communities. We are particularly concerned that Palestinian civilians have nowhere safe to go.
Already, there are devastating reports of the squalid conditions in the humanitarian zone in southern and central Gaza, where more than 1.5 million displaced civilians have fled. These catastrophic conditions were predicted months ago, and yet, have still not been addressed. That must change, and now.
We call on Israel to take urgent steps to do so.
And I reiterate the United States’ expectation that Palestinian civilians, including those evacuated from the north be permitted to return to their communities and rebuild.
Consistent with Resolution 2735, there must be no demographic or territorial change in the Gaza Strip, including any actions that reduce the territory of Gaza.
Colleagues, we are also concerned by recent actions by the Israeli government to limit the delivery of goods into Gaza. When combined with new bureaucratic limits placed on humanitarian goods arriving from Jordan, and the closure of most border crossings in recent weeks, these restrictions would only have the effect of intensifying suffering in Gaza. We need to see fewer barriers to the delivery of aid, not more of them.
In that same spirit, we are following with deep concern the Israeli legislative proposal that could alter UNRWA’s legal status, hindering its ability to communicate with Israeli officials, and removing privileges and immunities afforded to UN organizations and personnel around the globe. This legislative proposal reflects the significant distrust between Israel and UNRWA.
Israel has alleged – and the UN, in some cases, has confirmed – that a small percentage of UNRWA employees have ties to Hamas and other terrorist groups. Israel has also conveyed concerns about Hamas misusing UNRWA facilities and the United States shares these concerns.
At the same time, we know that UN personnel, including from UNRWA, are vital to the humanitarian response in Gaza and face tremendous danger while performing their work.
And so, Israel needs to provide UNRWA additional information regarding these allegations, and UNRWA needs to have in place a process to address these concerns seriously and urgently, and make faster progress on the much-needed reforms outlined in the Colonna report.
Simply put: It is in no one’s interest for the neutrality of UNRWA’s personnel to remain in doubt.
Colleagues, the challenges we’ve faced implementing Resolution 2720, and other related humanitarian resolutions, reflect a simple reality: Security Council meetings and resolutions alone will not end the suffering.
But the Council can and must continue to support efforts on the ground by UN agencies and other humanitarian organizations. And we can and must continue to pressure Hamas to accept the deal on the table. This must be our charge.
Thank you, Madam President.