The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) members, except the United States (US), have criticized Tel Aviv’s plans to take over Gaza City amid concerns it could “trigger another calamity” in the battered enclave, prompting calls for the deployment of an international protection force as Israel’s expanded military operations loom.
UN Assistant Secretary-General for Europe, Central Asia, and the Americas Miroslav Jenca said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s plans to defeat Hamas and for the establishment of an alternative civilian administration that is neither Hamas nor the Palestinian Authority could be “a dangerous escalation of the conflict”.
“This is yet another dangerous escalation of the conflict,” he warned at an emergency Security Council session held on Aug 10 in New York, adding that Israel foresees the displacement of all civilians from Gaza City by Oct 7 this year, affecting some 800,000 people, many of them previously displaced.
“If these plans are implemented, they will likely trigger another calamity in Gaza, reverberating across the region and causing further forced displacement, killings, and destruction — compounding the unbearable suffering of the population,” Jenca added.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres had expressed the same concern on Aug 9, saying that he was “gravely alarmed” by the decision of the Israeli Government to "take control of Gaza City".
Head of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs Ramesh Rajasingham said in his briefing to the Security Council that a “grim milestone” has been crossed in the humanitarian community, lamenting that over 500 humanitarian workers have been killed in Gaza since hostilities escalated, including at least 167 women.
He also noted the campaigns against aid operations continue unabated as he called for the protection of all aid workers.
However, just a day after the meeting, Al Jazeera reported that Israeli forces killed Al Jazeera correspondent Anas al-Sharif and Mohammed Qreiqeh, camera operators Ibrahim Zaher, Moamen Aliwa and their assistant Mohammed Noufal in a targeted strike on a media tent outside Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City.
US Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal called for the US to stop arming Israel in a post on her X account.
“The Israeli military has killed more than 200 journalists and media workers. The latest strike killed 5 journalists, including a prominent Al Jazeera journalist. The US must stop providing weapons for this genocide,” said Jayapal.
At the Security Council meeting, delegates from Algeria, the United Kingdom (UK), Russia, and Denmark were among those to reject Israel’s aggression and Gaza takeover, urging Israel to reverse its decision.
The Pakistani delegate said that those shielding Israel from accountability “are complicit, and must share responsibility” and that the Council must be ready to impose a cost on Israel — including the deployment of an international protection force to save the besieged population.
UN Permanent Observer for the State of Palestine Riyad Mansour accused Israel of “killing Palestine in Gaza”, where over 2 million victims “are enduring unbearable agony that the human mind can barely comprehend”.
“We owe them to act now to stop this genocide,” he asserted. Mansour also said that Israel “is prolonging the war not to disarm Hamas, but to prevent independent Palestinian statehood”.
Abdalfatah Asqool, a former international law lecturer at the University of Palestine in the Gaza Strip, told China Daily that Israel’s decision to expand military operations in Gaza came as a result of the inaction of the international community “towards the blatant international crimes and atrocities” that have been committed there.
“This decision also goes against the Israeli prisoners in Gaza who already suffered, like the Gazans, from the starvation due to the Israeli blockade of humanitarian supplies,” he added.
“Therefore, the only one who will benefit from this decision is Netanyahu, who only cares about his political future,” said Asqool, adding that the global condemnation must compel Israel “to move back and respect the international laws”.
At a press conference on Aug 9, Netanyahu said the plan to expand operations in Gaza and target the remaining Hamas strongholds was “the best way to end the war" and denied that the goal was “not to occupy Gaza”, but “to free Gaza from Hamas terrorists”.
Belal Alakhras, a political analyst and researcher at the University of Malaya in Kuala Lumpur, told China Daily that the situation in Gaza has altered amid Israel’s ongoing military campaign.
He said it has moved beyond the Palestinians’ decades-long dignified resistance of Israeli occupation to the Israeli government “openly mocking and humiliating nations across the world who are demanding basic humanitarian aid for Gaza, where foreign citizens are also suffering”.
“The alarming reality is that Israeli contempt appears normal as it can act however it wants without facing any real consequences or accountability,” said Alakhras.
He added that the Israeli government is essentially being rewarded for pursuing only its own interests while completely disregarding everyone else’s, and doing so with apparent consent by the United States and backup of some other Western nations.
Meanwhile, Australia said on Aug 10 it would recognize a Palestinian state, while New Zealand was also considering the move.
"Australia is further compelled by the Netanyahu government's disregard of the international community's calls, and its failure to comply with its legal and ethical obligations in Gaza," according to a joint statement by Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong.
New Zealand’s Foreign Minister Winston Peters said in a statement that the government "will carefully weigh up its position over the next month on recognition of a state of Palestine".
Xin Xin in Sydney contributed to this story.
Contact the writer at jan@chinadailyapac.com
