UN Assistant Secretary General Slams Hamas After 'Appalling' Images Of Starved Israeli Hostages Shown

Forbes Breaking News

During a United Nations Security Council meeting on Tuesday, Miroslav Jenča, Assistant Secretary General for Europe, Central Asia and the Americas, called for the release of Israeli hostages held in Gaza.

Transcript

00:00Mr. President, Excellencies, the situation in the occupied Palestinian territory and

00:07Israel continues to deteriorate, with Palestinian and Israeli civilians, including the remaining

00:15hostages in Gaza, continuing to suffer immensely as a result.

00:21In the past week, Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad released images and videos of two hostages,

00:29Evaitar David and Rom Braslavsky, looking visibly emaciated as they described the appalling

00:37conditions of their captivity.

00:40The scenes of Evaitar apparently being forced to dig his own grave are appalling.

00:49These images and their own accounts of their treatment have horrified us all.

00:56They are an affront to humanity itself.

01:00I would like to acknowledge the presence of Eli David, the brother of Evaitar David, who

01:08we will hear from shortly.

01:11Mr. David, please know that we at the United Nations recognize the profound pain and hardship

01:19endured by the families and loved ones of those who remain in captivity.

01:26Nearly two years have passed with the immeasurable suffering and fear intensifying with every passing

01:33day.

01:35I am especially mindful that this week the Jewish community commemorated Tisha B'Aha, a day of

01:43mourning and remembrance of historical tragedies endured by the Jewish people, a time that

01:51echoes with the pain of loss across generations.

01:56I pay tribute to your courage and determination and I share your dearest wish for your brother

02:05and all hostages held in Gaza to be immediately and unconditionally released.

02:12Mr. President, Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups continue to hold 50 hostages, 28 of

02:21whom are thought to be deceased, in captivity in horrific conditions.

02:27Most hostages have relayed distressing accounts of deprivation, ill treatment and abuse.

02:36Since 7 October 2023, Hamas and other armed groups have circulated dozens of videos of hostages,

02:45including statements made by hostages under duress and clearly suffering, including the most

02:52recent footage of Evitar David and Rom Braslavsky.

03:00International law is clear.

03:02Hostage taking is prohibited.

03:04It is a war crime.

03:06Those deprived of liberty must be treated humanly and with dignity and allowed to receive visits

03:14from the International Committee of the Red Cross.

03:18They must never be subject to ill treatment, abuse or humiliation, as this would also constitute

03:25violations of relevant rules of international law.

03:30I reiterate the Secretary General's call on Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups for

03:37the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages.

03:43They must be freed now.

03:46Mr. President, the situation in Gaza is horrifying.

03:51It is unbearable.

03:53Palestinians are subjected to squalid, inhuman conditions on a daily basis.

04:01Since the beginning of the conflict, over 60,000 Palestinians have been killed, according

04:06to the Gaza Ministry of Health.

04:10Since the end of May, over 1,200 Palestinians have been killed and over 8,100 injured while

04:20trying to access food supplies, including in the vicinity of militarized aid distribution

04:27sites.

04:28The deaths and injuries continue to mount day by day, with no end in sight to the suffering.

04:37Israel continues to severely restrict humanitarian assistance entering Gaza, and the aid that is

04:45permitted to enter is grossly inadequate.

04:49Anger is everywhere in Gaza, visible in the faces of children, and in the desperation of parents risking

04:57their lives to access the most basic supplies.

05:01I would like to echo the Secretary General's condemnation of the ongoing violence in Gaza,

05:08including the shooting, killing, and injuring of people attempting to get food for their families.

05:17International law is clear.

05:19Civilians must be respected, protected, and never targeted, or deliberately deprived of

05:25food or access to other life-saving aid.

05:30Doing so is a war crime.

05:33Israel must immediately allow and facilitate a rapid and unimpeded passage of sufficient

05:39amounts of humanitarian relief for civilians in need to avert further suffering and loss

05:46of life.

05:48Mr. President, the latest reports regarding Prime Minister Netanyahu's possible decision

05:54to expand Israel's military operations through the entire Gaza Strip, if true, are deeply

06:02alarming.

06:03This would risk catastrophic consequences for millions of Palestinians and could further

06:10endanger the lives of the remaining hostages in Gaza.

06:16International law is clear in this regard.

06:20Gaza is and must remain an integral part of a future Palestinian state.

06:26As declared by the International Court of Justice in its advisory opinion of 19 July 2024, the

06:35State of Israel is under an obligation to cease immediately all new settlement activities and

06:43to evacuate all settlers from the occupied Palestinian territory, and to bring to an end its unlawful

06:52presence in the occupied Palestinian territory, Gaza and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, as

07:00rapidly as possible.

07:01Mr. President, the United Nations has been clear.

07:12There is only one path to ending the ongoing violence and humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza.

07:19A full and permanent ceasefire.

07:22The immediate and unconditional release of all hostages.

07:27Life-saving humanitarian aid must flow into Gaza at scale and without obstructions, and civilians

07:35must be guaranteed safe, unhindered access to assistance.

07:40There is no military solution to the conflict in Gaza or the broader Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

07:46We must establish political and security frameworks that can relieve the humanitarian catastrophe

07:52in Gaza, start early recovery and reconstruction, address the legitimate security concerns of Israelis

08:01and Palestinians, and secure an end to Israel's unlawful occupation, and achieve a sustainable two-state solution.

08:11Israel and the fully independent, democratic, contiguous, viable, and sovereign Palestinian State,

08:18of which Gaza is an integral part, living side by side in peace and security, within secure and recognized borders,

08:28on the basis of the pre-1967 lines, with Jerusalem as the capital of both states.

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