Rome - Geneva - Gaza: Europe and the Arabs - agencies
The leaders of the rich G7 summit, which begins Thursday, in Puglia, Italy, face unprecedented challenges from disaffected voters to deliver tangible results during three days of discussions across an interconnected agenda that includes the war in Ukraine, migration, Africa, the situation in the Middle East, and the climate crisis. And harnessing artificial intelligence methods. According to a media report from the British newspaper The Guardian. In the same regard, European sources in Brussels reported that Biden’s ceasefire plan and the difficult humanitarian crisis suffered by the residents of Gaza, the West Bank and elsewhere will be part of the leaders’ discussions and the final statement of the summit.
This comes after the Secretary-General of the United Nations, António Guterres, affirmed his solidarity with the people of Gaza and the United Nations’ firm commitment to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA). This came during his speech to reporters in Geneva, yesterday, Wednesday, before heading to Rome to attend the summit of the Group of Seven major countries.
The Secretary-General affirmed his strong commitment to delivering humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza, “with UNRWA forming the backbone of this support.” Amid the long-running disinformation campaign to discredit the UN agency, Guterres said: “We have faced a number of well-known difficulties and obstacles, but nothing weakens our commitment.”
Turning to the continuing challenge of providing life-saving humanitarian assistance – especially since early May when the Israeli army closed the vital Rafah border crossing – the UN Secretary-General noted that it remains “extremely difficult to support populations under fire and with "Many restrictions on the entry of essential humanitarian aid supplies."
When asked to comment on the findings of the new report issued on Wednesday by the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry into the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel, the Secretary-General underscored the enormous scale of destruction and death resulting from hostilities over the past eight months.
He said, "We witnessed... a unique level of destruction... and a unique level of casualties among the Palestinians, during these months of war, unprecedented in any other situation I experienced as Secretary-General of the United Nations."
Violence impedes access to health care
On the other hand, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said that the escalation of hostilities across Gaza continues to hamper access to healthcare in the Strip.
Farhan Haq, deputy spokesman for the United Nations, said in the daily press conference that, despite these challenges, our humanitarian partners are currently reaching about 280,000 people weekly in Gaza with health services, and at the same time, the lack of cooking gas and the absence of public energy supplies are hampering Efforts to keep community kitchens and bakeries running.
He added that efforts to distribute food remain constrained by active fighting, damaged roads, the limited number of entry points into Gaza, suboptimal working hours at crossings and checkpoints, and the limited number of trucks allowed to enter.
The situation in the West Bank
Meanwhile, OCHA says the situation in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, continues to escalate, amid continuing violence by Israeli forces and settlers. The UN office reported that more than 520 Palestinians - nearly a quarter of them children - have been killed in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, since October 7.
Most of these deaths occurred during operations launched by Israeli forces. During the same period, more than 5,200 Palestinians were injured in those areas. OCHA says violence by Israeli settlers against Palestinians is also on the rise, with more than 960 such attacks reported in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, since 7 October.
The United Nations Human Rights Office condemned the extrajudicial killing of the unarmed Palestinian boy, Ahmed Muhammad Samoudi (17 years old), in Jenin in the West Bank. The office said: “He was shot repeatedly by Israeli forces when he was injured and screaming for help. During the operation, Israeli forces killed 5 other Palestinians.”
High incidence of malnutrition
On the other hand, UNICEF has warned that nearly 3,000 children in southern Gaza have dropped out of treatment for moderate and severe acute malnutrition - putting them at risk of death. The agency also expressed concern that cases of malnutrition may continue to rise if treatment services collapse.
Only two treatment centers for children suffering from acute malnutrition operate in Gaza. UNICEF says plans to open new centers have been delayed due to ongoing military operations throughout the Strip.