Any member state who sells weapons to Israel has 'responsibility': UN

By Diyar Guldogan and Serife Cetin

WASHINGTON/NEW YORK (AA) - Any UN member state that sells weapons to Israel has a "responsibility" for their use, a UN official said Wednesday.

"We want to see rulings of the International Court of Justice respected. We want to see funding to UNRWA resume and frankly increase given the increased needs.

"I think any member state who sells or transfers weapons has responsibility in terms of how those weapons are used anywhere in the world," Stephane Dujarric told reporters in New York when he was asked if the UN would call on member states to cut financial and military assistance to Israel, including those who cut funding to the UN Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA).

Dujarric reiterated the UN's demand for a humanitarian cease-fire, immediate release of all hostages and increased humanitarian aid.

According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA), as airstrikes targeting Rafah continue to intensify, there have been reports of civilians moving out of the area toward Deir al Balah and the An Nuseirat refugee camp.

"There's nowhere left to go," said Dujarric, adding that protected areas that were supposed to be safe, have been attacked.

"Going north is not safe because of unexploded ordinances, because of the lack of shelter. Now, there are people moving about but I'm not aware of any mass movement of people" he added.

Israel has pounded the Gaza Strip since an Oct. 7 Hamas attack, killing at least 28,567 people and injuring 68,291 others, while nearly 1,200 Israelis are believed to have been killed in the Hamas attack.

The Israeli war on Gaza has pushed 85% of the territory's population into internal displacement amid acute shortages of food, clean water and medicine, while 60% of the enclave's infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.

Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice. An interim ruling in January ordered Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.