Israeli acts reminiscent of gravest int'l crimes: OCHA chief at UNSC

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: News websites
13 Nov 2024 08:51

A top UN official has raised concerns over a recent bill passed by the Israeli Knesset that seeks to ban UNRWA's operations starting in January.

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Shaima, 8 years old, waits for her turn in the crowd to get a meal from a charitable hospice that distributes free food in the city of Rafah, southern Gaza Strip (UNICEF)

Joyce Msuya, the interim head of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), condemned on Tuesday the escalating humanitarian crisis in Gaza, labeling Israeli actions against Palestinians as "acts reminiscent of the gravest international crimes" during a UN Security Council meeting in Palestine.

"We are witnessing acts reminiscent of the gravest international crimes," she said, condemning the Israeli military's recent escalation in northern Gaza, where civilians have been "driven" from their homes and forced to witness the killing of their loved ones.

Msuya questioned, "What distinction was made, and what precautions were taken, if more than 70 percent of civilian housing is either damaged or destroyed?"

She also raised concerns over a recent bill passed by the Israeli Knesset that seeks to ban the operations of the UN Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) starting in January. Msuya urged UN member states to apply diplomatic and economic pressure to prevent further suffering for the Palestinian people.

Eight organizations, including Oxfam and Save The Children, declared that "the humanitarian situation in Gaza is now at its worst point since the war began in October 2023."

The meeting followed a recent UN-backed report warning of a high risk of famine in the besieged Palestinian territory.

Gaza famine warnings risk arms ban on 'Israel': Israeli media

Israeli media revealed on Saturday evening that the World Health Organization's announcement of famine conditions in northern Gaza might lead to new sanctions against "Israel" and a ban on arms exports to "Israel".

This Israeli concern over potential sanctions follows a warning from the Famine Review Committee of the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) — a team of senior independent international experts in food security, nutrition, and mortality — which indicated a strong likelihood of imminent famine in northern Gaza, amid "Israel’s" ongoing siege on the area.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus emphasized that the warning from global food security experts of potential famine in northern Gaza is deeply concerning, calling for an immediate increase in humanitarian aid and its safe delivery.

The Israeli Channel 12 reported that "Israel" is worried the United States, its closest ally, might refrain from using its veto in the Security Council to protect Israeli interests.

Moreover, senior officials assess that political complexities and international pressures may persist, and even intensify, after the US government transition, with Donald Trump returning to the White House.

The UN-backed assessment on Saturday indicated that famine is looming in northern Gaza as hostilities intensify and food aid has nearly come to a halt.

The IPC report noted that the current aid shipments entering Gaza are at their lowest level since October 2023.

It warned of "an imminent and substantial likelihood of famine occurring, due to the rapidly deteriorating situation in the Gaza Strip."

On October 17, the IPC projected that by April 2025, approximately 345,000 people—or 16% of Gaza’s population—would face "catastrophic" levels of food insecurity.

The committee classified this condition as Phase 5, when "starvation, death, destitution, and extremely critical acute malnutrition levels are evident."

Since that projection, conditions in northern Gaza have deteriorated further, with the food system collapsing, humanitarian aid plummeting, and critical water, sanitation, and hygiene services in disarray, the IPC highlighted.

"It can therefore be assumed that starvation, malnutrition, and excess mortality due to malnutrition and disease, are rapidly increasing in these areas," it underscored.

Expressing additional concerns, the committee pointed to "Israel’s" recent severing of ties with the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) for Palestinians, cautioning that this move could have "extremely serious consequences for humanitarian operations" in Gaza.

'Israel' violating US law; US says not

In October, Washington warned Tel Aviv of a potential halt in some weapons supplies if the humanitarian situation in Gaza did not improve. The issue of delivering humanitarian aid to Gaza was a key topic in the first phone call between US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and "Israel’s" new Security Minister, Israel Katz.

During the conversation, Austin underscored the urgent need to address the humanitarian situation in Gaza before the expiration of the 30-day deadline set by Washington for Tel Aviv till November 13.

However, humanitarian aid to Gaza has hit its lowest level since December, with only 8,805 tons of food reaching the strip this month, despite the US' 30-day deadline to enhance humanitarian supplies, The Guardian reported.

Reports suggest that the US had previously ignored reports by its agencies, which found that "Israel" had blocked food and medicine shipments. According to US law, US aid that any "state" that prevents US aid from reaching its destination should face the consequence of no military aid shipments.

“If no effective action is taken by stakeholders with influence, the scale of this looming catastrophe is likely to dwarf anything we have seen so far in the Gaza Strip since 7 October 2023,” the FRC committee said.

Despite clearly violating US law, State Department spokesman Vedant Patel rushed to announce Tuesday that "Israel" is not, yet he did stress the need for additional efforts to improve the situation on the ground.

"The overall humanitarian situation in Gaza continues to be unsatisfactory," Patel said, but noted that recent actions by "Israel", though limited, are "steps in the right direction."

Warnings of famine coincide with "Israel’s" continued intense assault on northern Gaza, marked by further massacres and acts of genocide, including the bombing of homes, hospitals, shelters, and civil defense teams, and the obstruction of medical teams from retrieving the martyred and injured.