“We are still in the hypothetical,” said the spokesman for the UN Aid Coordination Office (OCHA), Jens Laerke, about the Security Council resolution on the US peace plan, highlighting that “it needs some meat on the bones”, but recalling the UN chief’s support for development.
The resolution endorsing the “Comprehensive Plan to End the Gaza Conflict” announced by US President Trump on September 29 received the support of 13 Security Council countries. China and Russia abstained from the vote.
Catch up on our complete coverage of the Security Council resolution here.
A peace meeting
The resolution welcomes the transitional administration known as the “Peace Board,” which President Donald Trump is supposed to chair, to establish a temporary international force in Gaza and coordinate reconstruction efforts, including the delivery of humanitarian assistance.
In a statement issued by his spokesperson overnight, the UN Secretary-General encouraged all parties to the conflict to respect the fragile ceasefire, triggered by the Hamas-led terrorist attacks in Israel on October 7, 2023.
Guterres acknowledged the “continued diplomatic efforts” of Egypt, Qatar, Turkey, the United States and its regional neighbors in relation to the Gaza crisis, before underscoring the importance of “moving towards” the second phase of the US Plan, “leading to a political process for achieving the two-state solution, in line with previous United Nations resolutions.”
Exposed to more difficulties
Meanwhile, in Gaza, aid agencies stressed Tuesday that more than two years of destructive war between Hamas fighters and Israel and a chronic lack of any assistance have left the enclave’s population exhausted.
In recent days, heavy rains have flooded worn-out tents housing people repeatedly displaced by war, said Ricardo Pires of the United Nations Children’s Fund, UNICEF.
“We are seeing heartbreaking stories of desperate families feeling completely lost and exhausted after their shops were flooded,” he told reporters in Geneva. “When children sleep in flooded tents without warm clothing or dry bedding, many of them without the necessary nutrition, with very low immunity and already traumatized by the conflict, winter becomes extremely dangerous.”
Pires noted that the recent bad weather in Gaza has led to an increase in people seeking medical help, particularly among children weakened by “years of malnutrition, hunger, trauma (and) multiple displacements.”
The UNICEF official also explained that because Israeli forces occupy more than 50 percent of the enclave, many of the areas where Palestinians have been forced to seek refuge are coastal and the most prone to flooding.
Zikim aid increase
In a call for greater access to aid, he stressed that this was “part of the (peace) agreement and we need to see more humanitarian corridors open.”
According to OCHA, more than 5,400 metric tons of aid, including shelters, medical supplies and food, were collected between Thursday and Sunday. The Zikim border crossing has reopened after being closed for two months, bringing the number of available crossings to three.
Mr. Pires highlighted the importance of Zikim’s opening, saying that UNICEF recently managed to bring 96 pallets of high-energy biscuits destined for famine-stricken northern Gaza.
“We need more, much more,” he said. “We hope that with the new plan that becomes a reality for children and families.”