UN chief condemns “clear violations of humanitarian law” – L’Express

“I propose to our international partners that we can build a regional and international coalition to fight against the terrorist groups that threaten us all,” he insisted. “It is the interest of Israel and its security, as well as that of several of your neighbors threatened by these same groups or neighboring groups. The struggle must be merciless, but not without rules, because we are democracies which let’s fight against terrorists, therefore democracies which respect the laws of war and ensure humanitarian access” to the populations of Gaza, he added.

After an interview with the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, in Jerusalem, Emmanuel Macron expressed his solidarity with the Israeli population and the “emotion” of France which lost 30 nationals in the unprecedented attack since the creation of the State of Israel in 1948. “It is a black page in our history,” he stressed.

Upon his arrival in Tel Aviv in the morning, the Head of State met, during an emotional exchange, with families of French or Franco-Israeli people killed, disappeared or held hostage in the Gaza Strip.

Emmanuel Macron called for “a decisive relaunch of the political process with the Palestinians”, before a meeting with Mahmoud Abbas. He will be the first Western leader to meet the Palestinian president in Ramallah, in the occupied West Bank, since the start of the war. Emmanuel Macron will then travel to Amman to “probably” meet King Abdullah II of Jordan, according to the French presidency.

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres denounced this Tuesday before the Security Council the “clear violations” of humanitarian law in Gaza, insisting for an “immediate humanitarian ceasefire” on the 18th day of the war between Israel and Hamas.

“I am deeply concerned about the clear violations of international humanitarian law that we are seeing in Gaza. Let us be clear: no party to an armed conflict is above international humanitarian law,” he said without mentioning Israel.

“To ease this immense suffering, facilitate the distribution of aid in a more secure manner, and facilitate the release of the hostages, I repeat my call for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire,” he told the ministers. and diplomats from dozens of countries gathered at UN headquarters. “To ease this immense suffering, facilitate the distribution of aid in a more secure manner, and facilitate the release of the hostages, I repeat my call for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire,” he told the ministers. and diplomats from dozens of countries gathered at UN headquarters.

Two hostages were released Monday October 23 evening by Hamas, ordered by the United States to release the 220 Israeli, foreign or binational people kidnapped during its deadly attack against Israel on October 7, before any discussion on a truce.

The two hostages are women, of Israeli nationality and from Kibbutz Nir Oz, according to the Israeli Prime Minister’s office which gave their identities: Yocheved Lifschitz, 85 years old, and Nourit Kuper, 79 years old. Their husbands are still detained. After being transported in a military helicopter, the two ex-hostages arrived at the Sourasky Medical Center in Tel Aviv, one on a stretcher and the other in a wheelchair. “I went through hell, I didn’t think or know that I would find myself in this situation,” Yocheved Lifshitz told reporters in Tel Aviv. During the captivity, “they made sure we didn’t need anything. They treated us well,” she said. This release comes three days after that of an American woman and her daughter.

On Monday evening, US President Joe Biden demanded the release of all hostages before discussions on a ceasefire in the conflict between Israel and the Islamist movement.

“The hostages must be released, then we can talk,” declared the American president. In its statement announcing the releases, Hamas accused Israel of having “violated on eight occasions the arrangements governing the release operation that had been agreed with the mediators for it to be carried out.”

Six employees of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) were killed in Gaza in just 24 hours, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) announced on Monday evening. This brings to 35 the number of UNRWA personnel killed since the war between Israel and Hamas began on October 7.

As a third convoy crossed the Rafah checkpoint to help civilians in Gaza on Monday, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, called on Monday for a “ceasefire immediate humanitarian relief” in Gaza. At least a hundred trucks per day would be necessary to constitute sufficient humanitarian aid for the Gazans according to the UN, while only 50 trucks were able to enter the Palestinian strip in three days.

For the Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs, whose country has not explicitly condemned the Hamas attack but who serves as mediator, “the most urgent task now is to prevent the situation from getting worse and leading to a more serious humanitarian catastrophe” according to a press release from his ministry.

The UN General Assembly will meet on Thursday at 10 a.m. to discuss the war triggered by the Hamas attack on Israeli soil, its president announced Monday in a letter to member states Monday evening. While the Security Council failed to agree on a resolution concerning this war, several States, notably Jordan on behalf of the Arab group, Russia, Syria, Bangladesh and even Vietnam and the Cambodia, have formally requested General Assembly President Dennis Francis to schedule this meeting.

Last week, the UN Security Council, regularly divided on the Israeli-Palestinian issue, initially rejected a Russian proposal for a resolution calling for a “humanitarian ceasefire” but did not name Hamas, which which was unacceptable to the United States, the United Kingdom and France.

A second draft resolution drawn up by Brazil, which holds the presidency of the Council in October, was blocked by an American veto. Washington lambasted this text which did not mention Israel’s “right to defend itself”, while 12 countries voted for it. Before the General Assembly meeting, the Security Council will meet again on Tuesday on this issue. A long-planned meeting at which certain foreign ministers are expected.