Latest news with #Kaag
Saba Yemen
6 days ago
- Politics
- Saba Yemen
UN Official: Gaza aid delivery mechanism violates basic principles, we will not participate
New York - Saba: Sigrid Kaag, the Temporary Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, affirmed that she "will not participate in any mechanism for delivering humanitarian aid if it violates the fundamental principles of humanitarian action, foremost neutrality and independence." She stressed that "the situation in Gaza requires urgent international action that goes beyond formal statements and appeals." Kaag called for "an immediate halt to Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip." During a UN Security Council session on Wednesday, Kaag warned that "civilians in Gaza are facing an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe, with widespread destruction of infrastructure and continuous targeting of civilian life." She stated, "The people of Gaza have lost hope in life, and farewells in the Strip are now spoken on the brink of death, not tomorrow." She added, "Palestinians there deserve more than mere survival—they deserve a future filled with dignity and hope." Kaag warned that humanitarian aid is insufficient to meet the minimum needs of over two million people facing the specter of famine, describing the situation as "more like a lifeboat after the sinking of an entire ship." In the same context, Kaag expressed deep concern over escalating tensions in the occupied West Bank, pointing to accelerated settlement expansion, land seizures, and increasing settler violence, leading to a "de facto annexation." She emphasized, "The number of victims is no longer just statistics. These were people with names, dreams, and aspirations, whose lives were shattered under bombardment and deprivation." Whatsapp Telegram Email Print
The Sun
6 days ago
- Politics
- The Sun
Palestinians in Gaza 'deserve more than survival,' says UN envoy
UNITED NATIONS: Palestinians living in Gaza 'deserve more than survival,' the United Nations envoy for the Middle East told the Security Council on Wednesday, as Israel's war there enters its 600th day. Israel stepped up its military offensive in Gaza, ignited by an attack by Palestinian militant group Hamas on October 7, 2023, earlier this month, while mediators push for a ceasefire that remains elusive. The issue of aid has come sharply into focus amid a hunger crisis after Israel imposed a full blockade on Gaza for over two months, before allowing supplies in at a trickle last week. 'Since the resumption of hostilities in Gaza, the already horrific existence of civilians has only sunk further into the abyss. This is manmade,' Sigrid Kaag, the United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, told the Council. 'Death is their companion,' she continued. 'It's not life, it's not hope. The people of Gaza deserve more than survival. They deserve a future.' The aid that is now coming in 'is comparable to a lifeboat after the ship has sunk,' she said. Kaag warned that there could be no 'sustainable peace' in the Middle East without a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, adding that the West Bank also is on a 'dangerous trajectory.' And she called for collective action to revive a two-state solution, saying that a high-level international conference in June presents a 'critical opportunity.' 'It must launch a concrete path towards ending the occupation and realizing the two-state solution,' she said. When speaking of people in Gaza, 'the words empathy, solidarity and support have lost their meaning,' Kaag said. 'We should not become accustomed to the number of people killed or injured. These are daughters, mothers, and young children whose lives have been shattered. All have a name, all had a future, all had dreams and aspirations.' 'Why didn't I die? ' The UN Security Council also heard the harrowing testimony of an American surgeon on Wednesday, a few weeks after his return from Gaza. 'I am here because I have witnessed what is happening in Gaza with my own eyes, especially to children, and I cannot pretend not to have seen it. You too, cannot claim ignorance,' said Dr Feroze Sidhwa. The medical system in Gaza has not failed, he said. 'It has been systematically dismantled through a sustained military campaign that has willfully violated international humanitarian law.' Children are 'supposed to be protected,' he said, but 'in Gaza, those protections are simply gone.' 'Most of my patients were pre-teen children, their bodies shattered by explosions and torn by flying metal. Many died. Those who lived often awoke to find their entire families gone,' he said. 'According to the War Child Alliance, nearly half of Gaza's children are suicidal,' he said. 'They ask, why didn't I die with my sister, my mother, my father? Not out of extremism, but out of unbearable grief. I wonder if any member of this Council has ever met a five-year-old child who no longer wants to live.' The Israeli ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon, blamed Hamas for the situation in Gaza. 'There is suffering in Gaza, but the blame is on the shoulders of Hamas ... so they will continue to be suffering until Hamas will understand that they will not stay in Gaza,' he told reporters.
The Sun
6 days ago
- Politics
- The Sun
UN: Gaza Civilians Deserve More Than Survival, 600 Days On
UNITED NATIONS: Palestinians living in Gaza 'deserve more than survival,' the United Nations envoy for the Middle East told the Security Council on Wednesday, as Israel's war there enters its 600th day. Israel stepped up its military offensive in Gaza, ignited by an attack by Palestinian militant group Hamas on October 7, 2023, earlier this month, while mediators push for a ceasefire that remains elusive. The issue of aid has come sharply into focus amid a hunger crisis after Israel imposed a full blockade on Gaza for over two months, before allowing supplies in at a trickle last week. 'Since the resumption of hostilities in Gaza, the already horrific existence of civilians has only sunk further into the abyss. This is manmade,' Sigrid Kaag, the United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, told the Council. 'Death is their companion,' she continued. 'It's not life, it's not hope. The people of Gaza deserve more than survival. They deserve a future.' The aid that is now coming in 'is comparable to a lifeboat after the ship has sunk,' she said. Kaag warned that there could be no 'sustainable peace' in the Middle East without a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, adding that the West Bank also is on a 'dangerous trajectory.' And she called for collective action to revive a two-state solution, saying that a high-level international conference in June presents a 'critical opportunity.' 'It must launch a concrete path towards ending the occupation and realizing the two-state solution,' she said. When speaking of people in Gaza, 'the words empathy, solidarity and support have lost their meaning,' Kaag said. 'We should not become accustomed to the number of people killed or injured. These are daughters, mothers, and young children whose lives have been shattered. All have a name, all had a future, all had dreams and aspirations.' 'Why didn't I die?' The UN Security Council also heard the harrowing testimony of an American surgeon on Wednesday, a few weeks after his return from Gaza. 'I am here because I have witnessed what is happening in Gaza with my own eyes, especially to children, and I cannot pretend not to have seen it. You too, cannot claim ignorance,' said Dr Feroze Sidhwa. The medical system in Gaza has not failed, he said. 'It has been systematically dismantled through a sustained military campaign that has willfully violated international humanitarian law.' Children are 'supposed to be protected,' he said, but 'in Gaza, those protections are simply gone.' 'Most of my patients were pre-teen children, their bodies shattered by explosions and torn by flying metal. Many died. Those who lived often awoke to find their entire families gone,' he said. 'According to the War Child Alliance, nearly half of Gaza's children are suicidal,' he said. 'They ask, why didn't I die with my sister, my mother, my father? Not out of extremism, but out of unbearable grief. I wonder if any member of this Council has ever met a five-year-old child who no longer wants to live.' The Israeli ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon, blamed Hamas for the situation in Gaza. 'There is suffering in Gaza, but the blame is on the shoulders of Hamas ... so they will continue to be suffering until Hamas will understand that they will not stay in Gaza,' he told reporters.
Sydney Morning Herald
6 days ago
- General
- Sydney Morning Herald
Four Palestinians killed storming U.N. food warehouse in Gaza
A UN envoy compared the limited aid being allowed into Gaza to 'a lifeboat after the ship has sunk.' Sigrid Kaag, acting U.N. special coordinator for the Mideast, told the U.N. Security Council that people facing famine in Gaza 'have lost hope'. 'Instead of saying 'goodbye,' Palestinians in Gaza now say, 'See you in heaven,'' Kaag said Wednesday. On Tuesday, thousands of Palestinians broke through fences around the distribution site where thousands had gathered. The distribution hub outside Gaza's southernmost city of Rafah was opened Monday by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), which has been slated by Israel to take over aid operations. The Israeli military, which guards the site from a distance, said it fired only warning shots to control the situation. The foundation said its military contractors guarding the site did not open fire. The Red Cross Field Hospital said the 48 people who were wounded suffered gunshot wounds, including women and children. Loading The U.N. and other humanitarian organisations have rejected the new aid system, saying it will not be able to meet the needs of Gaza's 2.3 million people and that it allows Israel to use food to control the population. The organisations have also warned of the risk of friction between Israeli troops and people seeking supplies. Israel says it helped establish the new aid mechanism to prevent Hamas from siphoning off supplies, but it has provided no evidence of systematic diversion, and U.N. agencies say they have mechanisms in place to prevent it while delivering aid to all parts of the territory. GHF says it has established four hubs, two of which have begun operating in the now mostly uninhabited southern city of Rafah. It said about eight truckloads of aid were distributed at the hubs on Wednesday without incident. About 600 trucks entered Gaza every day during a ceasefire earlier this year. The GHF sites are guarded by private security contractors and have chain-link fences channelling Palestinians into a what resemble military bases surrounded by large sand berms. Israeli forces are stationed nearby in a military zone separating Rafah from the rest of the territory. The U.N. and other aid groups have refused to participate in GHF's system, saying it violates humanitarian principles. They say it can be used by Israel to forcibly displace the population by requiring them to move near the few distribution hubs or else face starvation, a violation of international law. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday that 'there was some loss of control momentarily' at the Rafah distribution point, adding that 'happily, we brought it under control'. He repeated that Israel plans to move Gaza's entire population to a 'sterile zone' at the southern end of the territory while troops fight Hamas elsewhere. Netanyahu has also vowed to facilitate what he refers to as the voluntary emigration of much of Gaza's population to other countries, a plan for what Palestinians and others view as forcible expulsion. Meanwhile, Netanyahu said his country killed senior Hamas leader Mohammed Sinwar, the brother of Yahya Sinwar, one of the masterminds of the militant group's Oct. 7, 2023, attack, who was killed by Israeli forces last year. Loading Speaking before parliament, Netanyahu included Sinwar in a list of Hamas leaders killed by Israeli forces, apparently confirming his death in a recent airstrike in Gaza. The war in Gaza began when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting 251. Hamas still holds 58 hostages, around a third of them believed to be alive. Most of the rest were released in ceasefire deals or other agreements. Israeli forces have rescued eight and recovered dozens of bodies. Israel's retaliatory campaign has killed more than 54,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. The ministry says women and children make up most of the dead, but it does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its tally. In other developments on Wednesday, Israel carried out airstrikes on the international airport in Yemen's capital, Sanaa, destroying the last plane belonging to the country's flagship airline. Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said it was the last plane used by the Iran-backed Houthi rebels. The strikes came after Houthi rebels fired several missiles at Israel in recent days, without causing casualties. The Israeli military said it destroyed aircraft used by the rebels. It was not immediately clear if anyone was killed or wounded in the strikes. The airport said the last plane belonging to the country's flagship carrier, Yemenia, had been destroyed. The airline did not say if anyone was wounded. Houthi-backed Yemeni President Mahdi al-Mashat visited the airport on Wednesday and said his group would not back down from its support of people in Gaza until the siege ends, according to SABA Yemen News Agency.
The Age
6 days ago
- General
- The Age
Four Palestinians killed storming U.N. food warehouse in Gaza
A UN envoy compared the limited aid being allowed into Gaza to 'a lifeboat after the ship has sunk.' Sigrid Kaag, acting U.N. special coordinator for the Mideast, told the U.N. Security Council that people facing famine in Gaza 'have lost hope'. 'Instead of saying 'goodbye,' Palestinians in Gaza now say, 'See you in heaven,'' Kaag said Wednesday. On Tuesday, thousands of Palestinians broke through fences around the distribution site where thousands had gathered. The distribution hub outside Gaza's southernmost city of Rafah was opened Monday by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), which has been slated by Israel to take over aid operations. The Israeli military, which guards the site from a distance, said it fired only warning shots to control the situation. The foundation said its military contractors guarding the site did not open fire. The Red Cross Field Hospital said the 48 people who were wounded suffered gunshot wounds, including women and children. Loading The U.N. and other humanitarian organisations have rejected the new aid system, saying it will not be able to meet the needs of Gaza's 2.3 million people and that it allows Israel to use food to control the population. The organisations have also warned of the risk of friction between Israeli troops and people seeking supplies. Israel says it helped establish the new aid mechanism to prevent Hamas from siphoning off supplies, but it has provided no evidence of systematic diversion, and U.N. agencies say they have mechanisms in place to prevent it while delivering aid to all parts of the territory. GHF says it has established four hubs, two of which have begun operating in the now mostly uninhabited southern city of Rafah. It said about eight truckloads of aid were distributed at the hubs on Wednesday without incident. About 600 trucks entered Gaza every day during a ceasefire earlier this year. The GHF sites are guarded by private security contractors and have chain-link fences channelling Palestinians into a what resemble military bases surrounded by large sand berms. Israeli forces are stationed nearby in a military zone separating Rafah from the rest of the territory. The U.N. and other aid groups have refused to participate in GHF's system, saying it violates humanitarian principles. They say it can be used by Israel to forcibly displace the population by requiring them to move near the few distribution hubs or else face starvation, a violation of international law. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday that 'there was some loss of control momentarily' at the Rafah distribution point, adding that 'happily, we brought it under control'. He repeated that Israel plans to move Gaza's entire population to a 'sterile zone' at the southern end of the territory while troops fight Hamas elsewhere. Netanyahu has also vowed to facilitate what he refers to as the voluntary emigration of much of Gaza's population to other countries, a plan for what Palestinians and others view as forcible expulsion. Meanwhile, Netanyahu said his country killed senior Hamas leader Mohammed Sinwar, the brother of Yahya Sinwar, one of the masterminds of the militant group's Oct. 7, 2023, attack, who was killed by Israeli forces last year. Loading Speaking before parliament, Netanyahu included Sinwar in a list of Hamas leaders killed by Israeli forces, apparently confirming his death in a recent airstrike in Gaza. The war in Gaza began when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting 251. Hamas still holds 58 hostages, around a third of them believed to be alive. Most of the rest were released in ceasefire deals or other agreements. Israeli forces have rescued eight and recovered dozens of bodies. Israel's retaliatory campaign has killed more than 54,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. The ministry says women and children make up most of the dead, but it does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its tally. In other developments on Wednesday, Israel carried out airstrikes on the international airport in Yemen's capital, Sanaa, destroying the last plane belonging to the country's flagship airline. Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said it was the last plane used by the Iran-backed Houthi rebels. The strikes came after Houthi rebels fired several missiles at Israel in recent days, without causing casualties. The Israeli military said it destroyed aircraft used by the rebels. It was not immediately clear if anyone was killed or wounded in the strikes. The airport said the last plane belonging to the country's flagship carrier, Yemenia, had been destroyed. The airline did not say if anyone was wounded. Houthi-backed Yemeni President Mahdi al-Mashat visited the airport on Wednesday and said his group would not back down from its support of people in Gaza until the siege ends, according to SABA Yemen News Agency.
