President,

I thank Secretary-General António Guterres for the statement and Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini for the briefing. 

More than nine months into the conflict, Gaza is trapped in an unprecedented humanitarian disaster. Humanitarian assistance has been a beacon of hope, and UNRWA, as the main pillar of the humanitarian assistance in Gaza, has been steadfast in its operations in the region. More than 190 UNRWA staff members have lost their lives. We pay the highest attribute to the humanitarian workers who are still working there, and express our condolences for the deceased. 

UNRWA has been mandated by General Assembly resolutions to provide assistance to the Palestinian refugees, and should be supported and facilitated by all countries. Secretary-General Guterres has repeatedly emphasized that there is no alternative to UNRWA in providing humanitarian assistance in Gaza. UNRWA also provides assistance to Palestinian refugees in the West Bank, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria, playing an important role in maintaining regional stability. China is greatly concerned about and firmly opposes the systematic attacks and  accusations and unreasonable suppression and restrictions imposed on UNRWA by Israel. We noticed that the report by the independent review group headed by Ms. Catherine Colonna has stated very clearly that the Agency has sound mechanisms to ensure its neutrality. The debate on the neutrality is over, and we hope that relevant countries will resume funding for the Agency so as to ease its increasing financial crisis. 

President, 

China has long provided humanitarian and development assistance to Palestine and supported the Agency in actively delivering its mandate. Since the outbreak of the conflict, China has provided several batches of assistance to Gaza. At the 10th ministerial meeting of the China-Arab States Corporation Forum in May this year, President Xi announced another 500 million yuan in emergency humanitarian assistance in addition to the 100 million yuan committed previously for alleviating the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and its post-war reconstruction, and also a donation of 3 million US dollar to UNRWA to support its provision of emergency humanitarian assistance to the Gaza Strip. 

We appreciate the statement of shared commitment to UNRWA initiative from Kuwait, Jordan, Slovenia, and other countries, and China has decided to join as well. We call on the international community to continue to support the Agency in its work. 

President, 

An immediate and lasting ceasefire in Gaza is the fundamental way to alleviate the humanitarian disaster and save innocent lives. China will continue to work with the international community to end the conflict at an early date, alleviate the humanitarian crisis, and implement the two-State solution. 

Thank you, President.