Latest news with #Jenča
Scoop
2 days ago
- Politics
- Scoop
‘There Is No Military Solution' To End Israel-Palestine Conflict, Security Council Hears, As Starvation Stalks Gaza
10 August 2025 Two top UN officials warned that the Israeli cabinet's green light this week for a fresh offensive aimed at gaining total military control of Gaza City – home to around one million Palestinians – would only risk igniting 'another horrific chapter' of displacement, death and destruction. Miroslav Jenča, Assistant Secretary-General for Europe, Central Asia and the Americas, told ambassadors that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's proposed plan for 'defeating Hamas' and the establishment of an alternative civilian administration that is neither Hamas nor the Palestinian Authority, risked 'yet another dangerous escalation' that would destabilise the entire region. However, according to Israeli media reports, the senior political affairs official continued, the Israeli plan foresees the displacement of all civilians from Gaza City by 7 October, affecting some 800,000 people – many previously displaced. Reports indicate that forces would then surround the city for three months. This would reportedly then be followed by an additional two months to seize control of central Gaza's camps and clear the entire area of Palestinian armed groups. Calamitous plan 'If these plans are implemented, they will likely trigger another calamity in Gaza, reverberating across the region and causing further forced displacement, killings, and destruction – compounding the unbearable suffering of the population,' said Mr. Jenča, calling for a full, immediate, and permanent ceasefire, the unconditional, immediate release of all hostages and compliance with international humanitarian law by Israel. He said there was no military solution to end the conflict adding that planning for Gaza's future 'as we address the urgency of developments on the ground today,' is critical. Mr. Jenča called for establishing political and security frameworks to ease the humanitarian crisis, while beginning recovery and reconstruction efforts that address the legitimate concerns of both Israelis and Palestinians – in line with realising a two-State solution. United Palestine 'Critically these frameworks must facilitate a legitimate Palestinian Government that can reunify Gaza and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, politically, economically and administratively." Furthermore, it must be made up of a united leadership representing all of Palestine. He called on the Palestinian Authority to 'advance its stated goal of holding elections' to this end. 'This is starvation': Rajasingham Senior humanitarian affairs official Ramesh Rajasingham told ambassadors that hunger-related deaths were already rising, ahead of any new mass-displacement policy for Gaza City. 'Whatever lifelines remain, are collapsing under the weight of sustained hostilities, forced displacement and insufficient levels of life-saving aid.' He said with local authorities documenting the deaths of 98 children from severe acute malnutrition – 37 since 1 July – 'this is no longer a looming hunger crisis – this is starvation.' The head of the humanitarian affairs coordination office (OCHA) in Geneva said he was extremely concerned over the 'prolonged conflict and further human toll that is likely to unfold following the Government of Israel's decision to expand military operations in Gaza.' 'This marks a grave escalation in a conflict that has already inflicted unimaginable suffering.' 'Grim milestone' 'A grim milestone has also been crossed in the humanitarian community,' he lamented, noting that over 500 humanitarian workers have been killed in Gaza since hostilities escalated, including at least 167 women. Smear campaigns against aid operations continue unabated. 'As we approach World Humanitarian Day, we must insist on the protection of all aid workers,' he added. States – all those with any influence – must look within our bruised collective conscience and summon the courage to do what is necessary to end this inhumanity and pain, he said. Civilians must be protected, and hostages must be released unconditionally. Arbitrarily detained Palestinians must be freed. Israel must agree to and facilitate humanitarian relief operations, both into and within the Gaza Strip, to reach the population in need. The International Court of Justice's (ICJ) provisional measures in the case on the application of the Genocide Convention in Gaza remain in place, the top OCHA official added, including the demand that Israel take immediate and effective measures to enable the provision of urgently needed basic services and humanitarian assistance.
Al Etihad
2 days ago
- Politics
- Al Etihad
Security Council: Ambassadors meet in emergency session, amid starvation in Gaza
10 Aug 2025 22:58 NEW YORK (WAM) The UN Security Council met on Sunday morning in New York following the Israeli cabinet's decision to again expand its military operation inside the Gaza Strip and take full control of the key population centre of Gaza City. UN chief António Guterres described it earlier as a 'dangerous escalation' for the two million civilians trapped in the enclave as well as the remaining Israeli hostages still held Jenča, the UN Assistant Secretary-General for Europe, Central Asia and the Americas, told the Council that conditions in Gaza were 'unbearable' and warned of 'catastrophic consequences' if the operation proceeds. He reiterated the UN's demand for a permanent ceasefire, the unconditional release of all hostages, and unrestricted humanitarian UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reported that hunger in Gaza has reached 'starvation, pure and simple,' with aid deliveries severely hampered by insecurity and access members were divided. France, the UK, and other nations warned the plan could breach international humanitarian law and worsen civilian suffering. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz announced a halt to military exports to Israel that could be used in Gaza, marking a notable shift in Germany's traditionally strong support for Palestinian Authority's representative, Riyad Mansour, condemned Israel's actions as a violation of international law and the will of the international community. Middle Eastern nations, including Qatar and the UAE, also criticized the plan, while Iran accused Israel of pursuing ethnic session concluded without a resolution, reflecting persistent divisions within the emergency meeting coincided with an announcement by medical sources in Gaza that hospitals in the Strip had received, during the past 24 hours, 61 bodies, including two recovered from under the rubble, in addition to 363 wounded, while the bodies of a number of victims remain trapped beneath the debris due to the inability of ambulance crews to reach new deaths caused by famine and malnutrition were also recorded, including two children, bringing the total number of hunger-related deaths to 217, among them 100 children. UNRWA had warned that rates of malnutrition among children under the age of five had doubled between March and June, while the World Health Organization confirmed that one in five children in Gaza suffers from acute malnutrition due to the blockade and delays in aid delivery.
Saudi Gazette
6 days ago
- Politics
- Saudi Gazette
UN official says Israel expanding Gaza operations would risk 'catastrophic consequences'
NEW YORK — A top UN official has warned there would be "catastrophic consequences" if Israel expands its military operations in Gaza, after reports Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is pushing for total reoccupation. Assistant Secretary General Miroslav Jenča told the UN Security Council such a move would be "deeply alarming", and could endanger the lives of more Palestinians, as well as Israeli hostages held by Hamas. Israeli media reported that Netanyahu plans to meet his security cabinet this week. "The die has been cast. We're going for the full conquest of the Gaza Strip - and defeating Hamas," a senior Israeli official was quoted as saying. The security cabinet, which is due to meet on Thursday, would need to approve such an action. It has been suggested the plan could be a negotiating tactic to pressure Hamas after a recent breakdown of ceasefire talks, or an attempt to shore up support from Netanyahu's far-right coalition whether he would support an Israeli plan to reoccupy all of Gaza, US President Donald Trump responded: "That's pretty much going to be up to Israel."Israel has been facing mounting international pressure over the war in Gaza, where experts say famine is his remarks, Jenča warned against any expansion of Israel's military operations."This would risk catastrophic consequences for millions of Palestinians and could further endanger the lives of the remaining hostages in Gaza," he added that under international law, Gaza "is and must remain an integral part of a future Palestinian state".Israel's military said it already had operational control of 75% of Gaza, but the new plan would reportedly propose occupying the entire region - including areas where more than two million Palestinians now proposals have proved divisive in Israel, with reports the army chief and other military leaders oppose the unnamed Israeli official responded by saying: "If that doesn't work for the chief of staff, he should resign."Map showing parts of Gaza under Israeli military control or subject to evacuation ordersThe families of hostages have expressed their fear that such a decision could endanger their loved says 49 hostages are still being held in Gaza, of whom 27 are believed to be reiterated to the UN Security Council the call for a ceasefire and the immediate and unconditional release of all the "squalid" and "inhumane" conditions faced by Palestinians, he urged Israel to immediately allow the unimpeded passage of sufficient aid."Israel continues to severely restrict humanitarian assistance entering Gaza, and the aid that is permitted to enter is grossly inadequate," Jenča also condemned the ongoing violence at food distribution sites, saying more than 1,200 Palestinians have been killed since the end of May while trying to access food and week, Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry said 154 people including 89 children had died from a lack of food since October agencies have warned there is man-made, mass starvation in Gaza, and reported at least 63 malnutrition-related deaths this has previously insisted there are no restrictions on aid deliveries and that there is "no starvation" in launched its military offensive in Gaza in response to Hamas's attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others taken to Gaza as than 60,000 Palestinians have been killed as a result of Israel's military campaign, according to the territory's health ministry. — BBC
Scoop
22-06-2025
- Politics
- Scoop
Ukraine: Security Council Hears Of Escalating Attacks, Diplomatic Developments
20 June 2025 'As we are facing renewed escalation on the ground and crisis elsewhere, it is critical to maintain focused attention on the urgent need for peace in Ukraine,' said UN Assistant Secretary-General Miroslav Jenča – one of two senior officials briefing the ambassadors. In the three weeks since the Council last met on Ukraine, Russia has carried out unrelenting large-scale attacks on cities and towns, resulting in a significant rise in civilian casualties. Deadly Kyiv attack A combined drone and missile attack on the capital Kyiv overnight on 16-17 June was one of the deadliest there in a year. At least 28 civilians were killed and more than 130 injured. Many others are still reported missing under the rubble of the 35 apartments destroyed that night. Attacks also reportedly occurred in Odesa, Zaporizhzhia, Chernihiv, Zhytomyr, Kirovohrad, Mykolaiv and Kyiv provinces that same night, with two civilians reportedly killed and scores injured in Odesa. 'These levels of death and destruction risk dimming hope for an immediate ceasefire and threaten to undermine prospects for a lasting peace,' he said. 'Dramatic increase' in casualties Data from the UN human rights office, OHCHR, reveals that at least 13,438 civilians, including 713 children, have been killed since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Another 33,270 civilians have been injured, including over 2,000 children. The number of civilian casualties in the first five months of this year alone totaled 5,144 – nearly 50 per cent higher than in the same period in 2024. Of this number, 859 were killed and 4,285 injured. 'This dramatic increase is a result of intensified use of long-range weapons, both missiles and loitering munitions, against cities across Ukraine,' said Mr. Jenča. Ukrainian authorities report that between 1 and 17 June, Russian forces launched at least 3,340 long-range drones, including loitering munitions and decoy drones, and 135 missiles into the country. This compares to 544 long-range munitions launched during the whole of June 2024. Attacks reported in Russia Escalating violence also continues to be reported in Russian regions that border Ukraine, though at a far lower level. In the Kursk region, a woman died in hospital a day after being injured in a Ukrainian drone attack while a man was killed, and five others injured, in a strike on a recreational centre. The UN was not able to verify these reports. 'Let me once again unequivocally state – attacks against civilians and civilian infrastructure are strictly prohibited under international humanitarian law, wherever they occur,' said Mr. Jenča, reiterating the UN's condemnation. Diplomatic developments welcomed Meanwhile, 'important diplomatic developments have taken place on the challenging path towards a lasting peace in Ukraine.' Ukrainian and Russian delegations held their second face-to-face meeting in Istanbul on 2 June. They reportedly exchanged written memoranda outlining their respective visions for a ceasefire and parameters for a future peace settlement. The sides also reached agreement for the large-scale exchange of prisoners of war, mortal remains and civilian detainees. Swaps have been carried out since then, with the latest round taking place earlier on Friday. The mortal remains of 6,057 Ukrainian and 78 Russian servicepersons also have been returned as of 16 June. 'We welcome the continuation of all meaningful diplomatic efforts, including the recent talks in Istanbul. We urge the sides to make tangible progress towards a ceasefire and a lasting settlement through continued talks,' said Mr. Jenča. In the face of escalation, he called for redoubling efforts 'to ensure that the fragile diplomatic process is not only sustained but becomes irreversible.' Civilians bear the brunt In the meantime, civilians continue to bear the severe consequences of the war, said Edem Wosornu, Director of Operations at the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). 'As the war continues, millions of lives are impacted every day. Essential services are disrupted, and vulnerabilities are deepening for nearly 13 million people in need of assistance,' she said. Roughly 3.7 million people are displaced inside Ukraine, including 60,000 newly displaced from frontline regions since January alone. Almost six million citizens are now refugees, mainly in Europe. Amid the intensifying hostilities, the Government continues to order the mandatory evacuation of families with children from front-line villages, she said. However, for some people in these locations 'attacks are so frequent that evacuations themselves become a risky prospect.' Humanitarians at risk Ms. Wosornu noted that humanitarians also face growing threats. This year, two aid workers have been killed and 24 injured while delivering assistance, and some 68 incidents of violence impacting relief personnel, assets and facilities have been recorded. She said that 'despite an operating environment beset by multiple risks and challenges,' humanitarians remain committed and engaged, and their operations continue. Between January and May, they reached some 3.4 million people with life-saving aid, including food, water, medicines, health services and livelihood support. Humanitarians are seeking $2.6 billion for Ukraine this year, and $816 million, has been secured, she said, stressing the importance importance of 'timely financial support'. End the war Ms. Wosornu concluded her remarks by renewing earlier calls for the Council to take urgent, collective action in three areas, including protecting civilians and ensuring safe humanitarian access to all in need. Ambassadors were also urged to ensure sustained financial support as 'declining funding trends' threaten aid efforts. Her final request was an appeal to 'end this war, and until then, ensure that humanitarian concerns are a central part of discussions on a pause in fighting or longer-term agreement.'
