President, 

I thank Senior Coordinator Sigrid Kaag and Executive Director Moreira da Silva for their briefings. China commend the Senior Coordinator and humanitarian agencies for their efforts to expand humanitarian deliveries to Gaza since over the past nine months. We support Ms. Kaag’s continued reporting to the Security Council. 

As we have heard from the briefers, despite the four resolutions adopted by this Council, the ICJ orders on provisional measures, and the huge efforts of the UN and other humanitarian agencies, the humanitarian situation in Gaza has been constantly worsening, and violations of international law, in particular, IHL, have persisted non-stop. Just last week, a UN convoy supporting the polio vaccination campaign approved by Israel was forcibly detained for nearly eight hours, during which shots were fired. Also last week, six UNRWA employees were killed in an airstrike. China strongly condemns such appalling attacks on humanitarian agencies and personnel, which are unacceptable. UNRWA is mandated by the General Assembly to provide relief for Palestinian refugees and is a pillar of strength for humanitarian operations in Gaza. Even at the most perilous times, the Agency has not abandoned Gaza, and to date, 224 of its staff have perished in the line of duty. We pay highest tribute to all the humanitarian workers who are still hanging in there, and our condolences over the demise of those who have made the ultimate sacrifice. We call on Israel to investigate in earnest all attacks on humanitarian workers and hold the perpetrators accountable.

That the polio vaccination campaign could go ahead is a telling proof that when the parties show political will, scaling up humanitarian operations in Gaza is perfectly achievable. China renews its call to Israel to fulfill its obligations under IHL by putting lives and humanity first, immediately lift the blockade, open all crossings, scrap restrictions on humanitarian deliveries, cease and desist from attacking UN and other humanitarian agencies, and provide safe and unimpeded access to the operations of those agencies.

President,

We are now near the first anniversary of the conflict in Gaza. Over the past year, despite strong joint international calls for a ceasefire and the cessation of killings, Israel has not halted its military operations, which have led to the death of over 41,000 Palestinian civilians. This is alarming. This is past belief. The Security Council has the primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security. But why has it been unable to stop this human tragedy, the worst of its kind to this day? As the analysis point out, had the United States not stood in the way on all those occasions, the Council could have adopted a resolution demanding a ceasefire early on after the conflict erupted. Had the US not shielded one side time and again, multiple resolutions of this Council would not have been flagrantly rejected and defied. We urge the US to show a responsible attitude, use the significant influence it holds over the party, and take tangible actions to push Israel to cease its military operations without delay, as demanded by the Council resolutions, to give the long suffering Palestinian people a chance to live. China supports further actions on the part of this Council to put out the flames of war, mitigate the humanitarian disaster, and bring peace to the region as soon as possible.

Thank you, President.