UN officials condemn 'Israel's' defiance of ICJ order
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Francesca Albanese, the UN Special Rapporteur for the Occupied Palestinian Territories, describes the reports from families trapped in Rafah as "terrifying," underscoring the urgent need for international intervention.
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Palestinians find their home city unrecognizable in Khan Younis, Southern Gaza Strip, on April 8, 2024. (AP)
Francesca Albanese, the UN Special Rapporteur for the Occupied Palestinian Territories, highlighted in a post on X that as the ICJ orders "Israel" to stop its offensive in Rafah, "Israel" defies the decision and intensifies its attacks on the city.
She further described the reports from families trapped in Rafah as "terrifying".
Let's be clear. As the ICJ orders Israel to stop its offensive in Rafah, Israel intensifies its attacks on it.
— Francesca Albanese, UN Special Rapporteur oPt (@FranceskAlbs) May 24, 2024
The news I am receiving from the people trapped therein are terrifying.
Be sure: Israel will not stop this madness until WE make it stop. Member states must impose… https://t.co/64SQbOKNXz
Albanese also said that "Israel" will not halt its actions unless compelled to do so by the international community. She called on member states to impose sanctions, enforce an arms embargo, and suspend diplomatic and political relations with "Israel" until it ceases its assault.
UN Relief chief urges immediate halt to Rafah invasion
UN relief chief Martin Griffiths highlighted the "suffering and misery" inflicted upon the Gaza Strip due to Israeli aggression on war, stressing that the global outcry against the Rafah invasion has become too prominent to overlook.
Describing the situation in Rafah as "a tragedy beyond words," Griffiths emphasized that the ground operation has resulted in over 800,000 individuals being forcibly displaced to regions lacking sufficient shelter, sanitation facilities, and clean water.
There has been nothing limited about the suffering that Israel's military operation in Rafah has caused.
— Martin Griffiths (@UNReliefChief) May 24, 2024
With today's adoption of Security Council resolution 2730 and the @CIJ_ICJ's order, this is a moment of clarity.
Release the hostages. Agree a ceasefire. End this nightmare. pic.twitter.com/kbwIcrgujs
Griffiths wrote on X that the offensive in Rafah disrupted the delivery of aid to southern Gaza, severely hampering humanitarian efforts to a critical juncture. He also highlighted that it halted food distributions and the provision of fuel, essential for Gaza's survival.
"Though Israel dismissed the international community's appeals to spare Rafah, the global clamor for an immediate stop to this offensive has grown too loud to ignore," the relief chief said.
Referencing the UN Security Council's resolution calling for the protection of humanitarian and UN personnel, as well as the International Court of Justice's (ICJ) order for "Israel" to cease its military offensive in Rafah, southern Gaza, Griffiths stated, "This is a moment of clarity."
"It is a moment to demand respect for the rules of war to which all are bound: Civilians must be allowed to seek safety," he stressed. "Humanitarian relief must be facilitated without obstruction."
He reiterated his call to "release the hostages. Agree to a ceasefire. End this nightmare."
UNICEF warns of low fuel supplies in Gaza risking lives of newborns
Earlier today, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) pointed to the "very low" fuel supply to Gaza, specifically to al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al Balah.
In a post by the UNICEF Palestine account, the organization said that there is "no consistent fuel delivery to" al-Aqsa Martyrs hospital," which will cause oxygen generators to shit down, endangering the lives of more than 20 newborns.
"Gaza needs more fuel NOW & safe corridors for humanitarian workers to operate," the organization urged.
Earlier on Thursday, UNICEF's Executive Director, Catherine Russell, said that the children in Gaza continue to pay a catastrophic price "from blocked aid routes and intensified military operations and fighting Rafah and beyond," adding that this has paralyzed the only remaining pediatric hospital in north Gaza.
Russel stressed that "children who have survived over 7 months," of the war on Gaza "are at ever-growing risk of dying from malnutrition and dehydration."
She pointed to the fact that severe acute malnutrition, as a result of the Israeli-imposed siege on the Gaza Strip, can leave permanent cognitive and physical damage to children.
"No child should die from starvation," she concluded.
