00:00Mr. President, we join colleagues in thanking Assistant Secretary-General Miroslav Zsensha for his briefing.
00:15We also listened with deep empathy to Mr. David's statement
00:22and sincerely hope for the safe and swift reunification of his family and all others still held in captivity.
00:35The taking of hostages is a clear violation of international law and totally unacceptable.
00:43Hostages must be released.
00:45Among other things, this was a clear demand in the draft resolution of the Security Council presented by the E-10, including Pakistan, in June.
00:59At the same time, let us be clear on the gravity of the overall situation on the ground.
01:07And it is not just we here in the Security Council or the wider membership in the General Assembly who are watching and who are worried.
01:23The entire world is watching in disbelief.
01:29Civilians have suffered the brunt of Israel's war on Gaza.
01:34Nothing can justify the indiscriminate killings, the starvation of an entire population,
01:43the collective punishment of a besieged people.
01:49These actions are not only morally indefensible,
01:54they constitute grave breaches of international law,
01:58including the Geneva Conventions,
01:59and stand in flagrant violation of binding mayors issued by the International Court of Justice.
02:08Mr. President, the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza continues to escalate at an unprecedented scale.
02:16According to UN human rights experts,
02:18Israel's widespread and systemic abuse of Palestinians in detention and arbitrary arrest practices over decades,
02:29coupled with the absence of any restraints by the Israeli state since 7th October 2023,
02:36paint a shocking picture enabled by absolute impunity.
02:40Around 9,500 Palestinians, including hundreds of children and women,
02:49are currently imprisoned, around one-third without charge or trial.
02:55This is a profound violation of basic human rights.
02:59And, again, totally unacceptable.
03:0260,000 Gazans have been killed.
03:0918,500 children.
03:12Palestinian children have been killed at a rate of more than one per hour since the war began.
03:21Mr. President, although I could have said this, but this is not my statement.
03:26It is the Washington Post which has also published the names and ages of each of those 18,500 Palestinian children.
03:42The leading Israeli newspaper, Haaretz, has described the situation in Gaza as, quote,
03:53quote,
03:54likely the most extreme example of politically driven starvation in the 21st century, unquote.
04:05The consequences are therefore horrible.
04:10At least 175 Palestinians, including 93 children, have died of starvation.
04:16The Director General of the FAO has warned,
04:21Gaza is now on the brink of a full-scale famine.
04:25People are not starving because food is unavailable.
04:29They are starving because access is denied.
04:34The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, IPC, has warned that the worst-case scenario of famine is now unfolding in the Gaza Strip.
04:46UNICEF has called it a perfect storm of suffering for children, while the UN Secretary General has warned of a humanitarian catastrophe of epic proportions.
05:00The World Food Program put it starkly, quote,
05:04quote,
05:05This is a disaster unfolding in front of our eyes, in front of our television screens.
05:12Mr. President, even the delivery of humanitarian aid has become deadly.
05:18Over 1,200 aid-related killings have been documented since May.
05:23Palestinians are routinely forced to choose between two deadly options.
05:30Risking death by starvation or risking death by gunfire to reach a food aid site.
05:40And this is what the New York Times is saying, Mr. President.
05:44This war on civilians must end.
05:50We call for an immediate, unconditional, and permanent ceasefire.
05:56Full Israeli withdrawal, the release of hostages, and unimpeded humanitarian access.
06:03The initial phase of the ceasefire agreement, brokered by Egypt, Qatar, and the United States, led to the release of 33 hostages.
06:16But for Israel's unilateral abandonment of the ceasefire, further releases could not take place.
06:23Thus, the suffering continues.
06:28And it continues on both sides.
06:31We further call for the full implementation of Security Council Resolution 2735,
06:37which presents a viable, actionable roadmap to end hostilities and deliver desperately needed aid.
06:46Mr. President, in the interest of peace,
06:49for that is the co-responsibility of this Council,
06:55we must keep in mind the historical perspective of the Arab-Israeli conflict.
07:02We must not lose sight of the root cause of this ongoing tragedy,
07:08and that is Israel's prolonged illegal occupation of the Palestinian territory.
07:14As long as this occupation endures, peace will remain elusive.
07:22Lasting peace demands a credible political horizon,
07:27one grounded in international law,
07:30leading to the realization of a sovereign, viable, and contiguous Palestinian state
07:36based on the pre-1967 borders with Al-Quds al-Sharif as its capital.
07:44The recent high-level conference on the peaceful settlement of the Palestinian question
07:50and the implementation of the two-state solution was a timely initiative.
07:56It must be followed up by concrete and coordinated international action
08:02to finally achieve the long-coveted peace and stability in the Middle East.
08:10Mr. President,
08:13Human rights are universal and indivisible.
08:18Human rights cannot be partitioned,
08:21and justice must never be selective.
08:24The imperative, legal, political, and moral is crystal clear.
08:32We must act now to end Israel's brutal and illegal war
08:39and the unconscionable suffering of the people.
08:43Humanity and dignity of peoples,
08:47civilians on both sides demand nothing less.
08:54I thank you.
