UN chief alarmed over ‘violations of law in Gaza’

UNITED NATIONS: UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Tuesday alleged violations of international law in Gaza and urged an immediate ceasefire as Israel pounds the Palestinian territory in response to Hamas attacks, with the crisis deeply dividing the Security Council.

Israel voiced anger over the UN chief’s plea before a high-level session of the Security Council, where the Palestinian foreign minister in turn denounced what he described as inaction in the conflict that has killed thousands on both sides, mostly civilians.

Opening the session, Guterres said there was no excuse for the “appalling” violence by Hamas militants on October 7 but also warned against “collective punishment” of the Palestinians. “I am deeply concerned about the clear violations of international humanitarian law that we are witnessing in Gaza. Let me be clear: No party to an armed conflict is above international humanitarian law,” Guterres said, without explicitly naming Israel.

Guterres said that the Palestinians had been “subjected to 56 years of suffocating occupation,” telling the Security Council: “It is important to also recognize the attacks by Hamas did not happen in a vacuum.”

His remarks infuriated Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen who, pointing his finger at Guterres and raising his voice, recounted graphic accounts of civilians including young children killed on October 7 in the deadliest single attack in Israeli history.

Rejecting tying the violence to the occupation, Cohen said Israel gave Gaza to the Palestinians “to the last millimeter” with its withdrawal in 2005. Israel shortly afterward imposed a blockade of the impoverished territory, in place ever since, after Hamas took power, and it still occupies the West Bank. Israel’s ambassador Gilad Erdan, called on Guterres to resign, writing on X, formerly known as Twitter, that the UN chief has “expressed an understanding for terrorism and murder.”

Hamas militants stormed into Israel on October 7 and attacked largely civilian targets, killing at least 1,400 people and taking more than 220 hostages, according to Israeli officials. More than 5,700 Palestinians, also mostly civilians, have been killed across the Gaza Strip in retaliatory Israeli bombardments, the territory’s Hamas-run health ministry said.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken asked the Security Council to back a new US-led resolution that “incorporates substantive feedback.” The draft, seen by AFP, would defend the “inherent right of all states” to self-defence while calling for compliance with international law. It would back “humanitarian pauses” to let in aid but not a full ceasefire. “No member of this council -- no nation in this entire body -- could or would tolerate the slaughter of its people,” Blinken said.

Veto-wielding Russia quickly said it would oppose the US draft. “The main sign that the whole world is expecting from the Security Council is a call for a swift and unconditional ceasefire on the opposing parties. This is precisely what is not in the American draft,” said Russia’s ambassador, Vassily Nebenzia.

The foreign minister of the Palestinian Authority, run by Hamas rivals, called inaction by the Security Council inexcusable. “The ongoing massacres being deliberately and systematically and savagely perpetrated by Israel -- the occupying power against the Palestinian civilian population under illegal occupation -- must be stopped,” Riyad al-Maliki said.

With the Security Council deadlocked, the General Assembly, whose decisions are non-binding, will also take up the crisis on Thursday at the request of a number of countries including Jordan and Russia.

The Hamas health ministry said at least 50 people were killed in a single hour of increased Israeli strikes on the Gaza Strip. “The Israeli occupation expands its targeting of multiple areas in the Gaza Strip, killing about 50 martyrs during the last hour,” a health ministry spokesperson said in a statement late Tuesday. This figure is exclusive of the over 700 Palestinians killed in overnight Israeli air raids on Gaza, according to Palestinian officials, creating the highest 24-hour death toll since Israel’s offensive on Gaza began, Al Jazeera reports.

The WHO has called for an “immediate humanitarian ceasefire” to allow for the passage of fuel and healthcare supplies into Gaza, warning that thousands of vulnerable patients will be at risk otherwise. The UN said 20 trucks due to deliver aid to Gaza have not yet entered the enclave, marking a day without any aid delivery.

Posting on his X, US President Joe Biden affirmed that Washington remains committed to the Palestinian people and the terror attack by Hamas doesn’t take that right away. “The United States remains committed to the Palestinian people’s right to dignity and to self-determination. The actions of Hamas terrorists don’t take that right away,” President Biden posted on X (formerly Twitter).

According to Washington Post, the Biden administration is preparing for the possibility that hundreds of thousands of American citizens will require evacuation from the Middle East if the bloodshed in Gaza cannot be contained, according to four officials familiar with the US government’s contingency planning.

The spectre of such an operation comes as Israeli forces, aided by US weapons and military advisers, prepare for what is widely expected to be a perilous ground offensive against Hamas. The officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity to detail internal deliberations, said Americans living in Israel and neighbouring Lebanon are of particular concern. Still, one official said, it “would be irresponsible not to have a plan for everything.” The administration is deeply alarmed by the prospect of escalation, and in recent days it has turned its attention in part to the complicated logistics of abruptly having to relocate a large number of people, according to three people familiar with the discussions.

There were about 600,000 U.S. citizens in Israel and another 86,000 believed to be in Lebanon when Hamas attacked, according to State Department estimates. The US administration’s concern extends beyond those two countries, as officials watch the street protests that have spread across the Arab world, putting both U.S. personnel and citizens in the region at heightened risk.

The bombardment of Gaza has inflamed regional fury at Israel and its treatment of Palestinians — an issue some officials believed no longer carried as much importance in the Arab world.

Meanwhile, Bloomberg reports that the Israeli military is offering cash and protection for anyone who shares accurate information on the whereabouts of hostages held by Hamas. Israeli flyers dropped on Gaza offer cash for intel on hostages.

In a related development, former US president Barack Obama advised that some of Israel’s decisions in its war against Hamas – including cutting off food and water for Gaza – could “harden Palestinian attitudes for generations” and weaken international support for Israel.

In rare comments on an active foreign policy crisis, the ex-US president said, “The Israeli government’s decision to cut off food, water and electricity to a captive civilian population [in Gaza] threatens not only to worsen a growing humanitarian crisis – it could further harden Palestinian attitudes for generations, erode global support for Israel, play into the hands of Israel’s enemies, and undermine long-term efforts to achieve peace and stability in the region.” Obama condemned Hamas’s attack and reiterated his support for Israel’s right to defend itself. But he cautioned about risks to civilians in such wars.

Opposing a ceasefire, the White House said a full ceasefire in Gaza would only help Hamas, but humanitarian “pauses” should be considered to let vital aid in. These comments came as President Joe Biden said aid deliveries to the Palestinian enclave were “not fast enough.” Biden also said that “talk” about any ceasefire could only start once all of the more than 200 hostages were released. “A ceasefire right now really only benefits Hamas,” National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told journalists.

Kirby said that while Washington opposed a full ceasefire, stoppages in the fighting to facilitate the delivery of aid was “something that ought to be considered.” “It’s not the same as saying a ceasefire.” Kirby meanwhile warned that while the United States had urged Israel to minimize civilian casualties, some were inevitable.