Online Reporter
Real progress in Gaza will depend on removing barriers to humanitarian aid delivery rather than merely achieving a “silencing of the guns”, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said yesterday.
He spoke to reporters following the announcement that Israel and Hamas had agreed to a cease-fire and hostage-release deal, which could help end the two-year war in the devastated Palestinian territory.
The UN chief reiterated his call for all parties to “abide fully” by the terms of the agreement.
“But to turn this cease-fire into real progress, we need more than the silencing of the guns,” Mr Guterres said, following months of calls from the body for Israel to stop obstructing the delivery of aid.
“We need full, safe and sustained access for humanitarian workers; the removal of red tape and impediments; and the rebuilding of shattered infrastructure.”
The United Nations is ready to provide full support, able to surge food, water, medical supplies and shelter “at once,” Mr Guterres said.
“We and our partners are prepared to move — now,” he said.
“We have the expertise, the distribution networks, and community relationships in place to act.”
Last week, UN humanitarian chief Mr Tom Fletcher said the UN had 170 000 tonnes of humanitarian aid prepositioned in the region, ready to enter Gaza.
Mr Guterres also called on all sides to seize the opportunity to “establish a credible political path forward.”
That would be “a path towards ending the occupation, recognising the right to self-determination of the Palestinian people, and achieving a two-state solution,” he said.
Palestine’s Ambassador to Zimbabwe has been repeatedly calling for the end to the war which has seen over 67 000 people killed and over 11 000 missing and presumed dead.
Dr Almassri has condemned Israel for deliberately targeting women, children and journalists in the bombardment of Gaza.
Over the past two years, at least 125 health facilities have been damaged, including 34 hospitals, leaving patients without access to essential medical services.
Israeli strikes on hospitals have killed at least 1 722 health and aid workers in the enclave.
Hundreds of others have been forcibly removed from hospital wards and patient bedsides and detained in Israeli prisons and military camps.
According to Health Care Workers Watch, as of July 22, Israeli forces are holding 28 prominent physicians, including 18 senior specialists in vital fields such as surgery, anaesthesiology, intensive care and paediatrics, depriving Gaza’s devastated health system of critical expertise.
Two of these senior doctors have reportedly died under torture in Israeli custody, and their bodies are still being withheld.
At least 20 physicians were taken from hospitals besieged or stormed by Israeli soldiers, while others were detained from medical convoys, their homes or during forced evacuations.
Most have been held without charge for more than 400 days, including three detained for over 600 days.
Israel has orchestrated widespread hunger in Gaza through military restrictions that have blocked aid for months and an imposed food distribution system in which people were shot almost daily while trying to collect food.
At least 459 people, including 154 children, have died due to starvation. — Daily Sabah/ Al Jazeera
