NEW YORK CITY: Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to the UN on Friday said not only is his country “saddened by the death of civilians but also we are angry and disappointed at the international community’s failure to assist even with medicine, food and shelter.”
Abdulaziz Alwasil was speaking during a briefing by senior UN humanitarian officials, in which the organization’s emergency relief coordinator, Martin Griffiths, described what is unfolding in Israel and Gaza as a stain on collective human conscience.
Griffiths called for the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages, as well as humanitarian pauses in Gaza so that aid can be delivered. But he stopped short of repeating his own previous call for a ceasefire, which had echoed a similar request from UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
Expressing concern about the dire humanitarian situation in the battered and besieged territory, Alwasil condemned “in the strongest terms” any targeting of civilians and all violations of international humanitarian law, including the targeting of infrastructure and civilian sites.
He called for “an immediate ceasefire (in) Gaza and an end to the illegal blockade” on the territory, as well as the unimpeded flow of humanitarian assistance to the people of Gaza, including basic requirements such as electricity, fuel, medicine, food and water.
“Because the international community has been unable to put an end to further killing and displacement, even for those living and seeking shelter within the United Nations, we have launched a campaign for the relief of the Palestinian people,” Alwasil said.
“In two days we were able to gather around a quarter of a million Saudi riyals ($268,000).
“The role of the United Nations, the role of UNRWA (the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the Near East) is vital to guarantee a safe space for humanitarian work, including through humanitarian corridors,” the Saudi envoy added as he stressed the need “to respect international humanitarian law and international human rights law.”
