A spokesman for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Jeremy Laurence, called for an immediate end to hostilities in Gaza following his latest visit to the Palestinian territories.
ADVERTISEMENTIn notes released after the visit, Laurence detailed the grim reality on the ground in Gaza, particularly the humanitarian catastrophe he says is worsening.
He says most of the people he spoke to in Gaza were desperately begging for a ceasefire. Their mental and physical condition was fragile, after they were completely broken by “13 months of merciless violence”.
“Getting basic necessities has become a daily, terrible struggle for survival. I saw dozens of women and children collecting waste in large landfills.”
Laurence says humanitarian aid remains at the top of the list of top needs for the people of Gaza, “It is so obvious that massive humanitarian aid needs to arrive”. His notes outline a completely preventable situation and emphasize the urgency to drastically increase the flow of life-saving aid, so as not to worsen an already dire situation “It is very important that the Israeli authorities make this happen.”
During nearly 14 months of fighting, the UN noted in a recent report that much of Gaza’s infrastructure has been reduced to rubble. Some 1.9 million; approximately 90% of the population has been internally displaced multiple times.
Israeli and Turkish media say a Hamas delegation is expected to arrive in Cairo on Saturday to hold talks with Egyptian officials. This followed recent statements by US President Joe Biden in which he said his administration would restart mediation efforts with Qatar, Egypt and Turkey to end hostilities in Gaza.
Earlier on Tuesday, Biden announced a cease-fire between Israel and Hezbollah, which would end 13 months of cross-border fire between Israel and Lebanon, depending on the terms. According to Biden, the deal is designed to be permanent.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he is open to a ceasefire in Gaza in exchange for the release of the hostages. The Israeli Prime Minister says that a pause in the fighting is something he is always open to, but that the end of the war will not happen until all of Israel’s military goals, namely the destruction of Hamas, are met.
On October 7, 2023, Hamas carried out attacks on Israel that claimed the lives of 1,200 people. Israeli officials say the war in Gaza will continue until Hamas is no longer capable of orchestrating such attacks.
Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry says more than 44,300 people have been killed since Israel launched the offensive, but its figures do not distinguish between civilians and fighters. The UN says that almost 70 percent of the deaths in Gaza that it has been able to confirm have been women and children.
