People walk near tent camps where displaced Palestinians, who fled their houses due to Israeli strikes amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, take shelter in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, December 9, 2023. REUTERS/Mustafa Thraya/ FILE PHOTO
On Monday, United Nations Security Council envoys witnessed firsthand the harrowing conditions in the Gaza Strip during their visit to the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing, the sole entry point for aid to the besieged Palestinian enclave. Zhang Jun, China’s representative to the United Nations, bluntly conveyed, “Enough is enough,” when asked about nations opposing a Gaza ceasefire.
The majority of UN member states advocate for an immediate and lasting ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, the Palestinian militant group governing Gaza, where conditions have drastically worsened for the 2.3 million residents. Last week, the United States, aligning with Israel, vetoed a Security Council proposal for an urgent ceasefire, as Israeli tanks and troops intensified an invasion that displaced most of Gaza’s population and claimed over 18,000 lives.
Organized by the United Arab Emirates, a dozen Security Council envoys embarked on the trip to Rafah, just days after Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned of thousands in Gaza facing starvation. Briefed by the UN Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA in Al-Arish, 30 miles away from Rafah, envoys received a stark assessment of the dire situation. Ecuador’s UN representative, Jose De La Gasca, expressed that “the reality is even worse than what words can speak.”
Notably, U.S. and French representatives chose not to participate in the visit. Lana Nusseibeh, UAE’s permanent representative to the UN, revealed that envoys were informed of Gazans dying from malnutrition, a collapsing medical system, and a severe shortage of water and food. The relentless conflict, characterized by Israeli airstrikes, ground offensives, and a blockade, has inflicted profound suffering on Gaza.
UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini described an “implosion of civil order” in Gaza, with desperate residents looting aid distribution centers due to a lack of assistance. He emphasized that hunger prevails, with most people sleeping on concrete amid the chaos. Russian envoy Vasily Nebenzia denounced conditions as “catastrophic” and called for those opposing a ceasefire to face the reality and afford dignity to the Palestinians.
Despite limited humanitarian aid and fuel deliveries via the Rafah crossing, the influx falls far short of meeting basic needs. The envoys’ journey coincided with hundreds of aid trucks awaiting entry, emphasizing the inadequacy of current aid efforts. The UAE revealed plans to coordinate the pumping of drinkable water from an Emirati-funded desalination plant in Egypt into Gaza, as Israel cut off water supplies to the region.
As the Security Council negotiates a UAE-drafted resolution demanding unrestricted access for aid to Gaza, concerns about Gaza’s capacity to receive desalinated water and the effectiveness of the resolution linger. UNICEF disclosed that a logistics center near Al-Arish stored items banned by Israel from entering Gaza, including solar panels and an ultrasound machine.
Guterres formally alerted the Security Council to the global threat posed by the conflict, emphasizing the urgent need for a humanitarian ceasefire. The UN General Assembly is set to convene on Tuesday, with a draft resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire expected to be on the agenda. The 193-member body’s vote will likely reflect the international community’s stance on addressing the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
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