The Middle East, including the Palestinian Question: Briefing and Consultations
Tomorrow afternoon (9 October), the Security Council will hold a briefing and consultations on the humanitarian situation in Gaza under the agenda item “The situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question”. Algeria and Slovenia, supported by France, requested the meeting. Director of the Financing and Partnerships Division of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) Lisa Doughten and UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini are expected to brief.
It has been more than one year since the outbreak of the war between Israel and Hamas, which began with the 7 October 2023 Hamas-led attacks on Israel. According to figures provided by Israeli authorities cited by OCHA, over 1,546 Israelis and foreign nationals have been killed between 7 October 2023 and 4 October, the vast majority on 7 October 2023. As at 10 September, 101 hostages remained captive in Gaza according to Israeli sources cited by the UN. Figures provided by Palestinian officials in Gaza cited by OCHA indicate that, as at 4 October, at least 41,802 Palestinians have been killed during Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, including 187 between 30 September and 4 October. Thousands more are missing and are likely trapped beneath the rubble.
While much of the world’s attention turns to developments in Lebanon, Israeli bombardment from the air, land and sea and ground operations continue to be reported across the Gaza Strip. Large areas of Gaza, including critical infrastructure, have been bombed to the ground, with about 63 percent of the total structures in the Gaza Strip estimated to be destroyed, damaged, or possibly damaged. At least 1.9 million people are estimated to be displaced across the Gaza Strip.
Marking the one-year anniversary of the attacks yesterday (7 October), UN Secretary-General António Guterres stated that “this is a day for the global community to repeat in the loudest voice our utter condemnation of the abhorrent acts of Hamas, including the taking of hostages”. In a press encounter earlier today (8 October), he said that, over the last year, “Gaza has become ground zero to a level of human suffering that is hard to fathom”.
The challenges facing UNRWA are likely to be a major focus of tomorrow’s briefing. Lazzarini is expected to update Council members on UNRWA’s role in providing food assistance, healthcare, and other services, as well as the severe effects of the conflict on UNRWA’s operations. He and others may express concern about the advancement of two bills related to UNWRA in the Israeli Knesset (parliament) on 5 October. One would reportedly prevent the agency from “operat[ing] any institution, provid[ing] any service, or conduct[ing] any activity, whether directly or indirectly” in Israel. The other would, among other measures, prevent Israeli agencies or representatives from having contact with UNWRA officials. The bills—which have been approved by the Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee—are expected to be discussed in plenary after the body reconvenes on 28 October. Tomorrow, some members might be interested in hearing Lazzarini’s views on the potential humanitarian effects if these laws are adopted as this would most likely not allow UNWRA to continue operating in Gaza. In his press encounter today, Guterres said that the legislation “would likely deal a terrible blow to the international humanitarian response in Gaza”.
The Israeli government has accused UNWRA staff of being involved in the 7 October 2023 attacks. The Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS), the main investigative body of the UN, examined the allegations upon Guterres’ request. On 5 August, Deputy Spokesperson for the Secretary-General Farhan Haq announced that the investigation had found nine UNRWA employees “may have been involved” in the attacks.
Another topic of tomorrow’s meeting may be deadly strikes by Israel on shelters for internally displaced persons (IDPs), including schools. In a 72-hour span from 29 September to 2 October, at least six schools that housed IDPs were hit, resulting in multiple deaths, including women and children, according to a 4 October OCHA update. These strikes continue a pattern documented by the UN Human Rights Office in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, which said that the Israeli military hit at least 14 schools in Gaza in September.
Since the start of the conflict, Israel has maintained that it takes care to limit civilian casualties but that militants embed themselves among civilians. In a 3 October news release on strikes on IDP shelters, the UN Human Rights Office in the Occupied Palestinian Territory outlined the responsibilities of the parties to the conflict under international law. It stated: “[i]rrespective of whether Palestinian armed groups were present in these facilities, the resulting high rate of civilian casualties makes it difficult to conceive that such strikes are proportionate according to the principles of international humanitarian law [IHL]”. The Human Rights Office called on Israel “to immediately end the pattern of strikes in Gaza on buildings acting as shelters” for IDPs. It also reminded Palestinian armed groups that “using the presence of civilians to shield themselves from attack constitutes a violation of IHL” and called on them to “cease and refrain from any such use and take all feasible precautions to protect civilians under their control from the effects of hostilities”.
At tomorrow’s meeting, the briefers and Council members may also discuss constraints on the delivery of humanitarian aid in Gaza. OCHA reported that, as at 27 September, 87 percent of aid movements (69 in total) between northern and southern Gaza coordinated with the Israeli authorities in September had been either denied or impeded. Members may be interested in learning the reasons provided for these restrictions, and whether measures can be taken to alleviate them. Other constraints to humanitarian aid delivery often cited by UN officials include ongoing hostilities, the limited number of open crossing points, and the breakdown of law and order in Gaza leading to the looting of supplies. UN officials have noted that, as the occupying power, it is incumbent on Israel to “restore public order and safety as far as possible and facilitate safe humanitarian access” to Gaza.
There may also be an update on the polio vaccination campaign being carried out in the Gaza Strip. In July, six environmental samples of variant poliovirus type 2 (polio) were detected in Gaza. In response to the outbreak, the UN is conducting a two-round vaccination campaign for children under ten years of age across the Gaza Strip during localised humanitarian pauses. The first round was successfully completed on 12 September. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the second round of the campaign is expected to be conducted in mid-October.
Several members may express ongoing concerns about the spillover effects of the conflict in Gaza, given the escalating fighting between Israel on the one hand and Iran and its allies (for example, Hezbollah and the Houthis) on the other. The Council discussed the escalation in the region during a 2 October briefing and consultations under “The situation in the Middle East” agenda item. It seems that during the consultations, France proposed press elements about the recent escalation in Lebanon, but agreement could not be reached on the text after some members requested language on additional issues. Tomorrow, members may also reiterate their support for Secretary-General António Guterres, following Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz’s 2 October announcement that Guterres is “persona non grata” in Israel after he did not explicitly condemn Iran’s missile attack on Israel that took place on the prior day (1 October). Subsequently, the Secretary-General said that he “strongly condemn[ed] yesterday’s massive missile attack by Iran on Israel”. The Council’s elected members issued a statement on 3 October in which they condemned the current cycle of violence in the Middle East and highlighted their “full support to…Guterres and the UN system”.
On 4 October, the US circulated a draft press statement condemning the 1 October attack at a train station in Jaffa, Israel, that was claimed by Hamas and resulted in the deaths of seven Israelis. Agreement could not be reached on the text after some members requested language on additional issues.
At a 27 September Council meeting on “The situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question”, Slovenian Prime Minister Robert Golob said that he had instructed his ambassador to start consultations on “a possible new humanitarian resolution on Palestine”. While no text has been circulated to date, tomorrow’s meeting may provide an opportunity for Council members to express their views on such a product.
