Following his comments as French President Emmanuel Macron looked on, the head of the UN Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA), Philippe Lazzarini, highlighted the “heartbreaking” plight of children in the area, whom he saw last week “advocating for a piece of bread and a sip of water.”
Mass displacement has led to severe overcrowding in shelters and entire neighborhoods have been reduced to rubble, Mr. Lazzarini said, amid Israel’s massive air and ground offensive in retaliation for Hamas’s deadly Oct. 7 attacks.
Time for action: Guterres
In a video message to the conference, UN Secretary General António Guterres reiterated his condemnation of the “abhorrent acts of terror” committed by Hamas against Israel and again called for the unconditional release of all hostages.
He underlined support for civilians in Gaza who are now “facing a never-ending humanitarian nightmare,” stressing that “now is the time for concrete action.”
Even though some aid is beginning to trickle into Gaza, “it is a drop in the ocean” as the needs are enormous, he said, urging the international community to step up aid and protection.
Humanitarian ceasefire, support and solidarity
“That means an immediate humanitarian ceasefire. It means ensuring full respect for international humanitarian law. It means protecting hospitals, UN facilities, shelters and schools,” the Secretary-General said.
“It means unfettered, safe and sustainable access to deliver and distribute supplies at much greater scale, volume and frequency – including fuel. And it means investing in the $1.2 billion humanitarian appeal that the United Nations just launched to help the people of Gaza.”
Calling for support, Mr Guterres said: “We can help the citizens of Gaza to finally, and at least, see a glimmer of hope – a sign of solidarity – and a signal that the world sees their plight and cares enough to take action. ”
Protect citizens ‘wherever they are’
Mr Griffiths, who represented the UN Secretary General at the high-level meeting in the French capital, described meeting with the families of some of the 240 people held hostage by Hamas in Gaza since the militant group launched its terror attacks in southern Gaza. Israel over a month ago.
After also speaking to families in Gaza, Mr Griffiths said the situation was “untenable” and it would be a “travesty” to allow it to continue.
The UN aid chief stressed the urgent need for a humanitarian ceasefire, “silencing the guns” to give Gazans some breathing space and the resumption of vital services.
He also called for the protection of citizens “wherever they are” and reiterated its concerns about the displacement by Israeli military operations of hundreds of thousands of people from the north to the south of the enclave to “so-called safe zones,” where their safety was in fact not guaranteed.
The UN cannot support this proposal without these security guarantees, he said.
According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Aid (OCHA), led by Mr Griffiths, another 50,000 people were reported to have evacuated northern Gaza to the south on Wednesday via a ‘corridor’ opened by the Israeli army.
Greater access to help is crucial
At the conference in Paris, Mr Griffiths and Mr Lazzarini issued a strong appeal to all parties to respect international humanitarian law in the conflict, which has already resulted in “unconscionable” numbers of civilian casualties and the loss of basic human dignity.
They called for unfettered access for hundreds more aid trucks to bring food, water, medical supplies and fuel to desperate Gazans.
“Severely restricting food, water and medicine is a collective punishment”, which is a violation of international law, warned Mr. Lazzarini of UNRWA.
Both UN leaders also called for opening additional crossings for aid, including Kerem Shalom on the border with Israel, as the volume of aid coming through the Rafah crossing from Egypt remains insufficient.
To provide humanitarian services in the face of rising needs, the UN and its partners launched a $1.2 billion funding appeal earlier this week with the aim of scaling up humanitarian operations to support 2.2 million people in the Gaza Strip and 500,000 people in the West Bank. .
Helping to mobilize this financing is one of the objectives of the Paris Conference.
UNRWA ‘last ray of hope’
Mr Lazzarini called on donors to step up support to Gaza residents, stressing that UNRWA is the last ray of hope for civilians in the enclave as staff continue to distribute food and water and place people in shelters and hospitals, despite the risks.
The UN agency, which has paid particularly high costs in this conflict that has killed 99 staffers in Gaza, will be unable to pay the salaries of its employees by the end of the year, he warned.
Fear of regional proliferation
Turning to the wider region, Mr Griffiths said we cannot ignore warnings of further escalation, citing recent flare-ups of violence in Lebanon and Yemen. He also expressed concern about the rise of anti-Semitic and anti-Muslim rhetoric.
The UN aid chief emphasized the crucial role of multilateral diplomatic efforts to protect civilians, ensure access to aid and enable the release of hostages.