Statement by Ambassador James Kariuki, UK Deputy
Permanent Representative to the UN, at the UN Security Council
meeting on Gaza, following Israeli strikes on al-Tabeen
school.
The UK is appalled by the Israeli military strike on al-Tabeen
school where Palestinian civilians were sheltering. The UN tells
us this strike killed dozens of Palestinians, many of whom are
reported to be women and children. Sadly, this was not the only
Israeli strike on schools, turned-shelters, we have seen. There
were 17 such attacks in July alone.
Palestinians have nowhere safe to turn. 86% of Gaza is now under
evacuation orders. And in recent days we have seen some of the
largest orders to date, impacting tens of thousands of people,
displaced multiple times over. Families are forced to move back
and forth, back and forth but with none of these places offering
the safety or security they so desperately need. On top of that,
some of these orders have been issued by Israel in the middle of
the night with minimal notice to allow civilians to flee. Israel
must ensure it complies with its obligations under international
humanitarian law to protect civilians.
The UK is also horrified by the reports of sexual violence and
abuse faced by the hostages in Gaza and Palestinian prisoners
held in Israeli detention, many of whom are children. Hamas must
release all the hostages immediately. Hamas must also stop
endangering civilians. And Israel must grant the ICRC access to
prisoners immediately and ensure accountability if anyone is
found to be responsible for the abuse of detainees.
We have also heard completely unacceptable rhetoric from Israeli
Ministers relating to the mistreatment of detainees and
starvation of civilians in Gaza. We call upon the Government of
Israel to retract and condemn these remarks. International law
could not be more clear – systemic mistreatment of detainees and
the intentional starvation of civilians are war crimes.
President, another deadly threat is on the horizon for the people
of Gaza. They stand on the precipice of a polio outbreak with
600,000 children under the age of 8 in desperate need of
vaccinations. We call on the parties to cooperate urgently with
the World Health Organization to facilitate vaccine rollouts and
ensure the safety of humanitarian workers. We call on Israel to
allow unfettered aid access into Gaza and to put in place an
effective deconfliction mechanism to ensure aid can be delivered
safely.
Finally President, I reiterate the UK's call for regional
de-escalation, as my Prime Minister made clear in his call with
Iranian President Pezeshkian last night. Thanks to the tireless
efforts of the US, Qatar and Egypt; there is a ceasefire deal on
the table for Gaza. My Prime Minister joined with his French and
German counterparts to urge the parties to resume discussions on
15 August and get the deal done. We need an immediate ceasefire,
we must get the hostages out, get much more aid in and move
quickly towards a two-state solution with a safe and secure
Israel alongside a viable and sovereign Palestinian state.
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