<\/p>\n
05 August 2025<\/p>\n
9972nd Meeting (PM)<\/p>\n
Nothing can justify the starvation and disproportionate suffering of Palestinian civilians in Gaza, delegates told the Security Council today, as they called for the immediate and unconditional release of the remaining hostages, who have been held in captivity by Hamas for 669 days.<\/p>\n
In the past week, said Miroslav Jen\u010da<\/a>, Assistant Secretary-General for Europe, Central Asia and Americas, Departments of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs and Peace Operations, Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad released images and videos of two hostages \u2014 Evaytar David and Rom Braslavsky \u2014 looking visibly emaciated, as they described the horrifying conditions of their captivity. \u201cThe scenes of Evaytar apparently being forced to dig his own grave are appalling [\u2026] an affront to humanity itself,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups continue to hold 50 hostages, 28 of whom are thought to be deceased, in captivity in horrific conditions, he continued, recalling distressing accounts of deprivation, ill-treatment and abuse from the released hostages. Underscoring that hostage-taking is a war crime and those deprived of liberty must be treated humanely and with dignity and allowed to receive visits from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), he called on Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups to immediately and unconditionally release all hostages.<\/p>\n Addressing the \u201cunbearable\u201d situation in Gaza, he said that Palestinians are subjected to squalid, inhumane conditions daily. Since the beginning of the conflict, over 60,000 Palestinians have been killed, according to the Gaza Ministry of Health. Since the end of May, over 1,200 Palestinians have been killed and over 8,100 injured while trying to access food supplies, including near militarized aid distribution sites. \u201cThe deaths and injuries continue to mount, day by day, with no end in sight to the suffering,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cHunger is everywhere in Gaza, visible in the faces of children and in the desperation of parents risking their lives to access the most basic supplies,\u201d he stressed, noting that Israel continues to severely restrict humanitarian assistance entering Gaza and the aid that is permitted to enter is \u201cgrossly inadequate\u201d. Emphasizing that the targeting of civilians or deliberate deprivation of food or access to other life-saving aid is a war crime, he urged Israel to immediately allow and facilitate the rapid and unimpeded passage of sufficient amounts of humanitarian relief.<\/p>\n Relatedly, he sounded the alarm over the latest reports regarding Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu\u2019s possible decision to expand his country\u2019s military operations throughout the entire Gaza Strip. \u201cThis would risk catastrophic consequences for millions of Palestinians and could further endanger the lives of the remaining hostages in Gaza,\u201d he warned, adding: \u201cGaza is and must remain an integral part of a future Palestinian State.\u201d As declared by the International Court of Justice, in its Advisory Opinion of 19 July 2024, Israel is obligated to cease immediately all new settlement activities, evacuate all settlers from the Occupied Palestinian Territory, and end its unlawful presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory \u2014 Gaza and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem \u2014 as rapidly as possible.<\/p>\n \u201cThere is only one path to ending the ongoing violence and humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza \u2014 a full and permanent ceasefire,\u201d he stated.<\/p>\n The Council then heard a harrowing testimony from Ilay David \u2014 the brother of hostage Eyvatar David, who was kidnapped from the Nova Festival and is now held by Hamas along with as many as 48 other hostages in Gaza. What is happening to Eyvatar and his friend, fellow hostage Guy, is \u201can act of calculated and depraved cruelty that defies human comprehension\u201d, he stated, describing the latest images of his brother as a \u201cliving skeleton\u201d barely with the strength to move or speak, forced to \u201cdig his own grave inside the filthy dark tunnel in Gaza\u201d.<\/p>\n Demanding that the Council act immediately for the unconditional release of all hostages, he called for humanitarian aid to reach them. \u201cWhile aid flows into Gaza to help the population, the hostages are being denied even the most basic necessities of life\u201d, he stressed. Warning that \u201cevery moment of delay is a step closer to a final tragic outcome\u201d, he affirmed that \u201cwe and the other hostage families cannot wait any longer\u201d.<\/p>\n Gideon Saar, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Israel, stated that, since 1947, Palestinians \u201chad countless opportunities to reach peace\u201d, but \u201crejected them all\u201d. Citing the \u201ccruel starvation\u201d of Mr. David and Mr. Braslavski, he described the attempt to link \u201cour starved hostages\u201d and a blood libel against his country as \u201ca campaign of lies\u201d. Israel has facilitated huge amounts of aid into Gaza in \u201can unprecedented way in the history of wars\u201d, while Hamas takes the aid.<\/p>\n He noted that the hostages still have not seen the ICRC representatives, while \u201cthe murderers being held in Israeli prisons receive medical care and nutrition\u201d. Citing the absence of any photos of the hostages in The New York Times and asking, \u201cis this not newsworthy\u201d, he lamented an \u201cupside-down world\u201d where the global media shift responsibility from the kidnappers and rapists to the country attacked from seven different fronts. He called on the Council to \u201cfinally condemn Hamas for its evil crimes\u201d and \u201cdemand the immediate release of all our hostages\u201d.<\/p>\n The Permanent Observer of the State of Palestine condemned all attacks against civilians, whether Palestinian or Israeli. While Israel demands that the world take a stand against starvation, it is starving an entire civilian population and holding 2 million people captive under its deadly siege, he stressed. He added that 76 Palestinian prisoners have died from torture, starvation or medical neglect in the last 20 months alone, citing videos showing Israeli jailers raping, beating and humiliating Palestinian prisoners.<\/p>\n He continued that what Israel did before 7 October 2023 cannot justify harming Israeli civilians, just as what Hamas did on 7 October 2023 cannot justify harming Palestinian civilians thereafter. The solution, he stressed, is to end Israel\u2019s illegal occupation, resolve the devastating conflict, and achieve an independent and sovereign Palestinian State. The International Conference \u2014 co-chaired by Saudi Arabia and France and attended by around 185 States \u2014 has charted \u201can irreversible path to peace\u201d, he stressed, reiterating Palestine\u2019s readiness to work with the United States, Saudi Arabia and France to finally achieve peace in the Middle East. \u201cEnough bloodshed. Enough wars. Enough suffering,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Numerous delegates echoed his call for an immediate ceasefire, urging unimpeded humanitarian access and the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages.<\/p>\n Underscoring that Mr. David\u2019s presence \u201csheds light on the profound human toll of this conflict,\u201d Denmark\u2019s delegate said that the remaining 50 hostages have been held in captivity for 669 days of \u201ca waking nightmare\u201d, deprived of their freedom and dignity and used as human bargaining chips by Hamas.<\/p>\n Adding to that, Argentina\u2019s delegate demanded the unconditional and immediate return of four Argentines still in captivity, underscoring that \u201cthere is no possible justification for such barbarity and antisemitism\u201d.<\/p>\n While expressing deep concern for the hostages, Sierra Leone\u2019s delegate underscored that the international community \u201ccannot ignore the wider humanitarian catastrophe\u201d engulfing Gaza.<\/p>\n \u201cThe suffering of the kidnapped hostages coexists with the daily tragedy of the Palestinian civilian population in Gaza,\u201d echoed Panama\u2019s delegate, Council President for the month and speaking in his national capacity. Noting that all civilians in the Strip are bearing the consequences of Hamas extremists, he emphasized that Gaza\u2019s future should be free from Hamas.<\/p>\n \u201cOver the past weekend, bombardments have intensified across the Strip, including areas where displaced families sought safety,\u201d cautioned Somalia\u2019s delegate, adding that \u201cthere is currently no safe place in Gaza\u201d.<\/p>\n What has been allowed into Gaza as humanitarian relief, said Algeria\u2019s delegate, is \u201ca drop in an ocean of need\u201d. However, \u201cairdrops are not a solution,\u201d he stressed, noting that humanitarian access is a legal obligation under the Geneva Conventions.<\/p>\n Deliberate starvation \u201cis unlawful and morally unacceptable \u2014 wherever it occurs, and whoever perpetrates it\u201d, stated Slovenia\u2019s delegate. Echoing the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification\u2019s alarm that the \u201cworst case scenario\u201d of famine and humanitarian catastrophe is \u201cunfolding before our eyes\u201d, he called on Israel to facilitate the immediate, safe and unhindered delivery of humanitarian assistance at scale to the population of Gaza.<\/p>\n \u201cIt would be an abomination for the international community to continue to allow innocent people, least of all innocent children, to starve in the sight of food\u201d, concurred Guyana\u2019s delegate.<\/p>\n On the reports that Israel has begun tactical pauses for 10 hours a day in Al-Mawasi, Deir al Balah and Gaza City, the speaker for the Republic of Korea said it is \u201cbetter than nothing\u201d but has not improved the hunger situation on the ground. Instead, he called on Israel to expand the humanitarian pauses throughout the Strip.<\/p>\n Underscoring that humanitarians and medical personnel should not be targeted, the Russian Federation\u2019s representative recounted how the Israeli military mercilessly shot the Palestinian Red Crescent ambulance personnel whose bodies were later discovered in a mass grave. Israel must stop this lawlessness, he asserted.<\/p>\n For his part, Pakistan\u2019s representative recalled that around 9,500 Palestinians \u2014 including hundreds of children and women \u2014 are currently imprisoned, onethird without charge or trial, \u201ca profound violation of basic human rights\u201d.<\/p>\n Recalling the accounts of doctors who had served in Gaza, the United Kingdom\u2019s delegate said: \u201cThey had seen children so malnourished that their wounds festered for months without healing; they had seen baby formula confiscated by the IDF [Israel Defense Forces] at the border \u2014 depriving newborns of the basic essentials for life.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe ceasefire earlier this year showed what can be achieved when there is political will and last week\u2019s two-State solution conference showed what can be achieved when the international community comes together,\u201d she continued, urging the parties to reinvigorate their efforts to secure a ceasefire deal and an end to the conflict.<\/p>\n Also underlining the significance of the conference, France\u2019s delegate welcomed the historic gesture by Arab countries, which, for the first time, condemned Hamas\u2019 crimes and proclaimed their aspiration to establish relations with Israel. \u201cThis is how we will break the cycle of violence and reopen the path to peace in the Middle East\u201d, he stated.<\/p>\n \u201cUnproductive publicity stunts like last week\u2019s two-State solution conference and unilateral announcements regarding recognition of a Palestinian State undercut the efforts of mediators and prolong the war\u201d, countered the representative of the United States, calling them \u201cgifts to Hamas\u201d. The international community should agree that the hostages must be freed without further delay and Hamas can no longer rule Gaza and must disarm, she insisted, citing allegations of genocide against Israel as \u201cpolitically motivated and categorically false\u201d.<\/p>\n China\u2019s delegate, meanwhile, pointed out that the ceasefire agreement reached in January \u2014 if fully implemented \u2014 could have paved the way for a lasting ceasefire in Gaza and the return of all hostages to their families.<\/p>\n Rejecting forced displacement of the population from the Occupied Palestinian Territories, Greece\u2019s delegate stated: \u201cThere can be no \u2018day-after\u2019 scenario for the Gaza Strip with Hamas\u201d, and \u201cthere can be no \u2018day-after\u2019 scenario without the Palestinians in Gaza.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" 05 August 2025 9972nd Meeting (PM) Delegates Call on Hamas to Immediately, Unconditionally Release All Hostages Nothing can justify the starvation and disproportionate suffering of Palestinian civilians in Gaza, delegates told the Security Council today, as they called for the immediate and unconditional release of the remaining hostages, who have been held in captivity […]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":299,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"country":[660,672,759,795,852,897,1035,1593,1041,1065,1074,5836,1119,6578,2321,2553],"document-category":[1329],"document-source":[1362],"committee-meeting":[],"document-subject":[2265,2033,6996,2005,6848,1741],"entity":[1729],"document-language":[6542],"class_list":["post-311063","document","type-document","status-publish","hentry","country-algeria","country-argentina","country-china","country-denmark","country-greece","country-israel","country-pakistan","country-palestine-state-of","country-panama","country-republic-of-korea","country-russian-federation","country-sierra-leone","country-slovenia","country-somalia","country-united-kingdom","country-united-states-of-america","document-category-press-release","document-source-security-council","document-subject-ceasefire","document-subject-children","document-subject-famine","document-subject-gaza-strip","document-subject-hostages","document-subject-human-rights-and-international-humanitarian-law","entity-united-nations-system","document-language-english"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document\/311063","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/document"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/299"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document\/311063\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":311064,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document\/311063\/revisions\/311064"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=311063"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"country","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/country?post=311063"},{"taxonomy":"document-category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-category?post=311063"},{"taxonomy":"document-source","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-source?post=311063"},{"taxonomy":"committee-meeting","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/committee-meeting?post=311063"},{"taxonomy":"document-subject","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-subject?post=311063"},{"taxonomy":"entity","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/entity?post=311063"},{"taxonomy":"document-language","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-language?post=311063"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}