MSF slams US, decries tragedy of young Gaza children wanting death
MSF chief condemns the United States for its abuse of its veto power to block the UNSC from implementing an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza
The United Nations Security Council on Thursday was a scene of tension as the head of Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) announced that the medical teams in Gaza have come up with a new acronym: WCNSF for wounded child, no surviving family.
Speaking to the 15-member UNSC, MSF International Secretary-General Christopher Lockyear expressed that "children who do survive this war will not only bear the visible wounds of traumatic injuries, but the invisible ones too."
"There is a repeated displacement, constant fear and witnessing family members literally dismembered before their eyes," he continued, adding, "These psychological injuries have led children as young as five to tell us that they would prefer to die."
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In his speech, Lockyear condemned the United States and expressed being appalled by its abuse of its veto power to block the UNSC from implementing an immediate humanitarian ceasefire.
The US has so far exercised its veto power three times to block a ceasefire in Gaza.
"The people of Gaza need a ceasefire, not when practicable, but now. They need a sustained ceasefire, not a temporary period of calm," Lockyear said. "Anything short of this is gross negligence."
He further noted that "meeting after meeting, resolution after resolution. This body has failed to effectively address this conflict... We have watched members of this council deliberate and delay while civilians died."
In the same meeting, China's UN Ambassador Zhang Jun expressed being "appalled" by Lockyear's briefing and added, "We hope the tragic picture that he painted of Gaza for us can touch the conscience of a certain member of this council."
The UK's UN Ambassador Barbara Woodward called Lockyear's speech "harrowing", which comes after the UK abstained from Tuesday's vote regarding a ceasefire while the remaining 13 council members voted in favor of the resolution presented by Algeria.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov labeled the US veto of Algeria's UN resolution as a license for the ongoing massacre of innocent civilians in Gaza.
Slovenia's UNSC Ambassador Samuel Zbogar asked, "What kind of a council have we become if we remain untouched by the tearful briefing that we heard today by the secretary general of Médecins Sans Frontières?"
On the other hand, Deputy US Ambassador to the UN, Robert Wood, did not even bat an eye to Lockyear's speech, as he mirrored the US' statement in just urging "Israel" to allow aid into Gaza and not proceed with a ground offensive in Rafah "in the absence of a viable plan to protect civilians."
"We all want to see a durable end to this conflict," Wood said, adding, "The pace of hostage talks can be frustrating ... council support for this diplomacy is critical to increase pressure on Hamas to accept the agreement on the table."
Just three days ago, at a press briefing by the MSF, Refugees International, Oxfam, Amnesty International, and other groups, Avril Benoit, executive director of MSF-USA, said that a potential invasion of the city of Rafah could transform the Gaza City into a "graveyard" and exacerbate the imminent risk of famine.
"The consequences of a full-scale assault on Rafah are truly unimaginable," Benoit told reporters. "Carrying out a military offensive there would turn it into a graveyard."
The city of Rafah, which currently houses 1.4 million Palestinians in tent camps and shelters, is the "end of the line," Benoit said.
"It's the last hub of healthcare services and humanitarian assistance for the people in Gaza," she said. "Attacking Rafah effectively means cutting off the lifelines of people who have already lost everything except their lives."