Gaza - Geneva: Europe and the Arabs
The young man, Bassem Al-Habal, carries a bag of flour that he obtained from UNRWA, inside one of the displacement centers in the city of Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip. Providing food and water for his small family outlines his daily journey in light of displacement, war, and unique challenges that are more difficult for Bassem, who is from the deaf and mute community in Gaza.
Inside the room that shelters him - in a school that has been turned into a shelter for displaced people - which is limited to the possessions that Bassem and his family were able to carry, the young head of the family decided to convey what is happening in his small surroundings and within the Gaza Strip to the world through daily videos that he shares on social media. According to a publication on the United Nations media website
While independent UN expert Francesca Albanese said that the occupied Palestinian territory is surrounded by a spiral of violence that cannot be stopped, as the stories told by Palestinians and other witnesses add “a new depth to the atrocities that the world has witnessed since the beginning of the Israeli attack on Gaza more than six months ago.”
In a statement issued yesterday, Thursday, the United Nations Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the occupied Palestinian territory said, “The pace of this violence and the severity of its spread to the rest of the occupied territory confirms that no Palestinian is safe under absolute Israeli control.”
The Special Rapporteur said that Israel had once again arbitrarily denied her access to the occupied Palestinian territory, forcing her to submit a report on the situation of Palestinians under occupation from neighboring countries.
She noted that her visit showed that the situation in Gaza is worse than previously assessed, with serious, multi-level implications in the long term.
She explained that most of the victims she met suffered catastrophic injuries, witnessed the killing of family members and suffered from the effects of the Israeli destruction of health infrastructure in Gaza, even after January 26, 2024, when the International Court of Justice issued a ruling ordering Israel to do everything in its power to prevent all Actions included in Article II of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Genocide, with respect to Palestinians in Gaza.
Brokenness and destruction
The UN rapporteur said that patients who had previously arrived in Egypt suffering primarily from symptoms associated with explosive and war injuries are now being joined by patients suffering from chronic diseases or malnutrition, especially children, resulting from the “deliberate humanitarian catastrophe” perpetrated by the United Nations. Israel in Gaza
She added, "Photos taken only eight months ago show the 8-year-old child, Hamed, with chubby cheeks. He has now become thin and spends his days in excruciating pain due to pancreatitis that arose during the harsh conditions of the siege."
She said that those who left Gaza emerge broken and devastated by “survivor guilt” and intense trauma, adding that “just 50 kilometers from the Gaza Strip lies vital life-sustaining aid and goods, including water desalination equipment, first aid, and oxygen cylinders.” Portable toilets - paid for by taxpayers around the world - are in warehouses, and are banned from entering Gaza on the grounds that they may be used by fighters.
The independent expert warned that the humanitarian measures applied so far, including air drops of aid and sea corridors, are merely a palliative for what is urgently needed and legally due, stressing that these measures are completely insufficient to mitigate the humanitarian catastrophe created by the Israeli attack.
Albanese said, "At this stage, Israel has retreated from its international obligations to the point of calling for sanctions."
The importance of UNRWA
The Special Rapporteur said that her visit emphasized how important the mandate of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) is to Palestinians and peoples across the region as Palestinians once again flee to seek safety.
"The surrounding countries alone cannot absorb the impact of the harmful Israeli practices of killing and displacement from Gaza," Albanese said. She called for a supply chain of support to be circulated through the United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator, noting that "this will relieve responsibility for Egypt and the Egyptian people."
It renewed the call for an immediate ceasefire, “an end to the illegal Israeli control over Gaza and the occupied Palestinian territory,” and for a preventive presence to ensure peace and stability in the region.
She stressed that it is very important for the United Nations to bear full responsibility for humanitarian operations in accordance with Security Council Resolution No. 2720.
West Bank and East Jerusalem
The independent human rights expert said, "The atrocities that people witnessed in Gaza are indescribable." She noted that her visit also confirms that interest in the deteriorating situation in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, has passed.
She added that there are widespread reports of increased restrictions, violations, arbitrary arrests and extrajudicial killings by both Israeli soldiers and armed settlers.
She said, "Israeli policies affecting the occupied Palestinian territory undoubtedly endanger the Palestinian presence on its land. The international community must focus on the most likely repercussions, which is the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians. Countries must do everything in their power to prevent this."
Albanese said she went through the heartbreaking experience of meeting with Palestinians from Gaza and recording their testimonies, and she is confident that UN member states will work to end the massacre and ensure accountability.
She concluded her statement by saying, "Countries must insist on an immediate and unconditional ceasefire and impose sanctions on Israel to avoid additional catastrophe."
Albanese is scheduled to issue a report on her visit to the region at a later date. It is noteworthy that special rapporteurs and independent experts are appointed by the Human Rights Council in Geneva, which is an intergovernmental body responsible for promoting and protecting human rights around the world. Rapporteurs and experts are tasked with studying human rights situations and submitting reports on them to the Human Rights Council. It should be noted that this position is honorary, and these experts are not considered employees of the United Nations and do not receive compensation for their work.