Mr. President,
With our British, Danish, Greek, and Slovenian partners, we called for this Council meeting because there is an urgent need.
I would like to thank the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Mr. Tom Fletcher, and the Executive Director of UNICEF, Ms. Catherine Russell, for their briefings, which speak for themselves in their brutal clarity, and call once again on this Council to take action with three priorities.
1/ Firstly, Israel must be reminded that it must respect international law and its obligations toward the Palestinian population, particularly the people in Gaza. Israel must end its blockade of humanitarian aid. The distribution system managed by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation is unacceptable. It is incompatible with the obligations under international law and the humanitarian principles of impartiality, neutrality, and independence. Since the opening of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation’s distribution centers, hundreds of people have lost their lives during food distributions and thousands have been injured. This is intolerable. Furthermore, humanitarian aid must never be used for political purposes.
It must be allowed to enter Gaza immediately and at scale, safely and unimpeded, and reach all the civilian population in need, in accordance, once again, with international humanitarian Law.
2/ Secondly, the Council must call upon Israel to fully implement its commitments, in particular those under the agreement signed with the European Union on July 10, which should allow for increased delivery of aid to the enclave. This assistance must be provided, as provided for in the agreement, by the United Nations and its partners. They are the only stakeholders with the capacity to deliver aid in accordance with humanitarian principles and with all possible guarantees that it will be distributed properly. This includes food aid, of course, but also medical and other assistance to guarantee the survival of hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians who have the right to this assistance and protection. The Council must reiterate its support to the United Nations and its humanitarian efforts.
However, as long as Gaza remains an active war zone, this aid will remain insufficient.
3/ The Council must therefore continue to call for an immediate, comprehensive and lasting ceasefire and for the unconditional release of all hostages still being held by Hamas. These are the only means to guarantee real protection for the population and sustained humanitarian access. Proposals for an agreement have been put forward. Talks must move forward in good faith on this basis. Once again, we commend and support the tireless mediation efforts made by Qatar, the United States and Egypt.
4/ Finally, the extreme gravity of the humanitarian situation in Gaza reminds us every day of the urgent need to work towards a political settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which is the only solution capable of meeting the legitimate aspirations of the Israeli and Palestinian people for peace and security. It is in this spirit that France and Saudi Arabia will co-chair the General Assembly’s international conference on the implementation of the two-state solution on July 28 and 29 in New York. This solution is neither an illusion nor a utopia, it is a realistic pathway toward lasting peace. The work of the conference’s working groups, with input of UN Member States, has identified tangible actions to bring this solution to fruition and reopen a political horizon that will benefit both Israelis and Palestinians.
Thank you.