Pakistan’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad has urged the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) to break its silence and take decisive action in response to the worsening humanitarian crisis in Gaza, where continued Israeli military operations and attacks on civilians have caused massive destruction and loss of life.

He addressed a Security Council briefing on the Middle East.

Ahmad described the situation in Gaza as a “humanitarian catastrophe beyond comprehension.” He noted that over 56,500 Palestinians, mostly women and children have been killed since October 7, 2023, according to figures from Gaza health authorities.

The UNSC held the briefing under Resolution 2334 (2016), which mandates a quarterly report by the UN Secretary-General on Israel’s settlement activities.

However, the session extended beyond the resolution’s scope, with discussions also focusing on the looming famine in Gaza and the controversial new aid distribution mechanism run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, an entity established with backing from Israel and the United States.

Ambassador Asim sharply criticized the new mechanism, calling it a violation of international humanitarian law and an affront to human dignity.

He said it endangers starving civilians by forcing them to cross active conflict zones to obtain food and water.

“Over 500 people have died while trying to access humanitarian aid. This is a death trap,” he warned.

Rejecting the need for alternative aid mechanisms, the Pakistani envoy emphasized that the UN already operates a tested and principled humanitarian delivery system based on neutrality, impartiality, and independence.

“What is needed is not a reinvention of the wheel, but political will and unhindered access for the UN to do its job,” he stressed.

Ambassador Asim also highlighted that the violence is not limited to Gaza.

He pointed out that Israel has escalated military raids, expanded illegal settlements, and allowed unchecked settler violence in the Occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem.

Also, he warned that the Security Council’s inaction threatens global peace and damages the Council’s credibility.

“The failure to implement its own resolutions carries grave consequences,” he said.

Calling for urgent and clear action, Ambassador Asim outlined a series of steps the Security Council must take:

• Demand an immediate halt to Israeli military operations in Gaza and the West Bank;

• Fully and unconditionally lift the blockade on humanitarian aid, and grant safe, unhindered access to the UN and other humanitarian agencies;

• Support the Arab League–OIC Plan for Recovery and Reconstruction in Gaza;

• Ensure implementation of Resolution 2334 to preserve the two-state solution;

• Launch a credible political process to establish a sovereign Palestinian state based on pre-June 1967 borders, with Al-Quds Al-Sharif (Jerusalem) as its capital.

The briefing opened with remarks by Khaled Khiari, UN Assistant Secretary-General for the Middle East, Asia, and the Pacific, who emphasized the severe toll the conflict continues to take on civilians.

“The level of suffering and brutality in Gaza is unbearable,” he stated, condemning what he described as the ongoing collective punishment of the Palestinian people as “unjustifiable.”