THE DEPUTY SECRETARY-GENERAL -- JOINT PRESS ENCOUNTER WITH H.E. BADR AHMED MOHAMED, MINISTER FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS, EMIGRATION AND EGYPTIAN EXPATRIATES OF THE ARAB REPUBLIC OF EGYPT

Ladies and gentlemen of the media, 

 

I thank Egypt and President El-Sisi and Minister Abdelatty for hosting today’s conference — and for Egypt’s leadership as the absolute nightmare in Gaza grinds on. 

 

And here, I would like to first remember all those journalists that have lost their lives and have been killed in this crisis and to commend the courage of those who still try to take the message and the voices of the people of Palestine forward justice. 

 

As the Secretary-General has repeatedly said, nothing justifies the 7th October abhorrent acts of terror by Hamas, nor the taking of hostages.  

 

And nothing justifies the collective punishment of the Palestinian people that continues, even as we speak.

 

This conference is about fulfilling the immediate needs of the Palestinian people. 

 

But it’s also about the steps required to stop the cycle of destruction and begin forging a lasting and sustainable peace. 

 

As we meet in Cairo, people in Gaza are facing crisis after crisis. 

 

They face a crisis of violence — with more than 44,000 Palestinians killed, mostly women and children. 

 

A crisis of shattered infrastructure — homes, neighbourhoods, hospitals and schools all levelled by the fighting. 

 

A crisis of displacement — with over 90 per cent of Palestinians being displaced, often multiple times, being squeezed into smaller and smaller areas that offer no safety. 

 

A crisis of hunger and malnutrition — with famine that is imminent – but all this man-made. 

 

A crisis of humanitarian aid being blocked time and time again by draconian Israeli measures — as well as a total breakdown in law and order giving way to looting, and destroyed and overcrowded roads. 

 

This is all being made worse by militarized Israeli security operations, settlement expansion, evictions, demolitions, settler violence and threats of annexation in the occupied West Bank. 

 

The situation is also a crisis for the Palestinian people’s best hope — UNRWA. 

 

Let me be clear. 

 

Israeli measures, including the recent Knesset bills, are preventing UNRWA from doing their job. 

 

And our staff members themselves have — outrageously — been killed, and many in the course of their work, and some, as I spoke this morning, in the course or trying to find safety for their family. Not only do they lose their family, but lose hope. 

 

Since the conflict began, 251 UN colleagues have been killed — almost all of them had worked for UNRWA. 

 

In addition, humanitarian installations, including hospitals and schools, have been damaged or destroyed. 

 

This all flies in the face of basic international law, numerous General Assembly and Security Council resolutions, and the International Court of Justice’s determinations and binding provisional orders. 

 

Above all, the crisis in Gaza is a crisis of political will to influence the parties’ conduct and the end of conflict.  

 

Today, the Secretary-General repeats his call for all parties to comply with their obligations under international law. 

 

We need to get aid flowing, immediately remove any obstructions to aid, and to ensure access and security for all humanitarian staff and operations. 

 

This, of course, includes UNRWA, which is an irreplaceable lifeline for millions of Palestinians. 

 

UNRWA has more schools, medical facilities, warehouses, offices and staff than all other humanitarian agencies in the Occupied Palestinian Territory combined. 

 

Aid is unthinkable without UNRWA. 

 

Rebuilding and reconstruction are also unthinkable without UNRWA. 

 

Above all, we need a political solution that puts peace first, the ceasefire, access to humanitarian aid.

 

Peace requires an immediate ceasefire and the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages. 

 

And peace will require an end to the unlawful occupation of the Occupied Palestinian Territory as envisaged by the International Court of Justice and requested by the General Assembly. 

 

Peace also requires a two-State solution, in line with international law and relevant UN resolutions — with Israel and Palestine living side-by-side in peace and security, with Jerusalem as the capital of both States. 

 

We will be sparing no effort to gather partners around the need for a lasting and sustainable peace for Israelis and Palestinians alike. 

 

Ladies and gentlemen of the media, 

 

The people of Gaza are in jeopardy. 

 

International law is in jeopardy.

 

Humanitarian aid is in jeopardy. 

 

And humanitarians themselves are in crisis. 

 

Enough is enough. We believe that the cycle of death, destruction and denial of aid has to end. 

 

And leaders can put an end to the crisis in Gaza.  

 

In the name of our common humanity, they must.

 

And I call on them to take action and end the nightmare now.

 

Thank you.

 

Question: [Randa Abu Azam, Al Arabiya] Will the United Nations have a role in managing the Rafah Crossing on the Palestinian side if it is reopened?

Also, as the issues cannot be separated. What is happening in Syria now might impact — or is already impacting—the events in Gaza, by drawing global attention away from the Gaza crisis, reducing its international prominence. Furthermore, the developments in Syria could potentially expand more regionally, surpassing the situation there. Could you please comment on this?

 

Deputy Secretary-General: There were, I think, a year ago, the warnings showing that if we did not pay attention and take care of the crisis in Gaza, that the rest of the region was at risk. And I think we have seen over the last few months Lebanon and now Syria. I think it’s important for us to keep the visibility and the focus on Gaza. This is where the crisis is, where people, two million people, are under this oppressive state of famine, of lack of food, of the injuries that they receive and that they cannot have medical treatment. The access for humanitarian aid is absolutely essential. And that’s why we greatly appreciate that Egypt is providing this space to keep that visibility and to keep our voices to amplify what it is the Palestinian people need. We’re paying attention and closely observing what is happening in Syria, just as we did in Lebanon and went through various crises there to come to a ceasefire. So, the many moving parts that we see and the newly erupting ones, this is something that we have to work together to make sure no one falls off the radar of the importance of those issues. Gaza is still front and center of our attention.

 

Question: [Randa Abu Azam, Al Arabiya] Will the United Nations have a role in managing the Rafah Crossing on the Palestinian side?

 

Deputy Secretary-General: We will, with UNRWA and with our other agencies, continue to work hand-in-hand with the governments and with the people of Palestine to deliver that aid.

 

 

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