Israeli army's evacuation orders 'defy requirements of international humanitarian law': UN

By Merve Aydogan

HAMILTON, Canada (AA) - The UN on Thursday highlighted the "desperate" situation in Gaza as it raised concerns over the Israeli army's continued evacuation orders in the enclave, which "defy the requirements of international humanitarian law."

While expressing "deep concern about the latest deterioration in the occupied West Bank," Joyce Msuya, the UN Acting Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, told the UN Security Council that "the situation in Gaza is beyond desperate."

Msuya recalled the "harrowing levels of death, injury and destruction" in Gaza that "raise very serious concerns about compliance with international humanitarian law."

She cited mounting reports of "ill-treatment of Palestinian detainees in Israel."

Msuya noted the severe difficulties and obstacles faced by humanitarian workers on the ground and said "the lives of 2.1 million people cannot depend on luck and hope alone."

Noting that "evacuation orders issued by the Israeli military have spiked, with devastating impacts on civilians," she said "more than 88% of Gaza’s territory has come under an order to evacuate at some point."

"Any and every square foot of available land is being used for shelter," she said, adding “the evacuation orders appear to defy the requirements of international humanitarian law."

On polio, Msuya noted the significance of implementing the vaccination campaign effectively in Gaza and said: "I don’t need to tell you how disastrous it would be if we were unable to contain this preventable disease – a disease that knows no borders."

Urging the Council and other UN member states to act immediately as "tensions flare dangerously across other parts of the Occupied Palestinian Territory and the region," Msuya said: "We appeal to Council Members and all Member States to use the leverage available to them to ensure respect for international law, combat impunity, and reach an immediate cessation of hostilities and a sustained cease-fire in Gaza."

Michael Ryan, executive director of the World Health Organization's (WHO) Health Emergencies Program, also briefed the Security Council, saying: "This relentless conflict has far-reaching consequences on the health and wellbeing of the people of Palestine and Israel, and the wider region."

"The absence of the most basic public health interventions in Gaza for 11 months has resulted in diseases spreading, including the resurgence of polio," he said, adding the outbreak of polio "is a stark reminder of how quickly infectious disease can re-emerge where health systems are compromised."

Regarding the vaccination campaign that is set to begin on Sept. 1, Ryan said humanitarian workers on the ground "will provide two drops of WHO-prequalified novel oral polio vaccine type 2 (NOPV2) to more than 640,000 children under 10 years of age."

Saying that the security during the area-specific humanitarian pauses is "paramount," he urged all parties "to ensure their protection as well as that of health facilities, children and their families."

Ryan also said that the WHO and its partners provide "health care on the ground, and 63 health cluster partners are currently operating in Gaza, reaching on average 338,000 people per week."