Egypt at UNSC after Gaza hospital attacks: Israeli crimes will not drive Palestinians from their lands

CAIRO – 3 January 2025: Egypt has condemned the “new, ugly face” Israel has demonstrated recently by heavily targeting the health system in the Gaza Strip, emphasizing that “these crimes will not drive the Palestinian people from their lands.”

Egypt's Permanent Representative to the United Nations Osama Abdel Khalek made the remarks on Friday during an emergency session of the UN Security Council on the collapse of health services in Gaza.

“Israel must know that all these crimes will not push the Palestinians to leave their lands, and will not push us as Arabs, along with all peace-loving countries, to abandon them and their cause, which is our first and fundamental cause,” Abdel Khalek stated.

CAUSE OF THE MEETING

An Israeli raid on Kamal Adwan Hospital in December has put the last major health facility in North Gaza out of service, arresting the hospital director and other medical staff and evacuating patients, including those in critical condition.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned that the systematic dismantling of the health system and a siege for nearly three months on North Gaza endanger the lives of around 75,000 Palestinians in the area.

Israel and the United States claim that Hamas misuse civilian infrastructure in Gaza, including hospitals and schools.

In his speech, Egypt’s Abdel Khalek emphasized the lack of documented evidence for Israeli allegations on the misuse of hospitals, underlining Israeli’s commitment, as the occupation force, to ensure the provision of health and medical services to Palestinians.

Abdel Khalek also called for recognizing the shortcomings of the Israeli justice system with regard to the conduct of its forces.

He called for conducting independent and transparent investigations and full accountability for all violations of international humanitarian law and human rights law.

Abdel Khalek underlined the reported catastrophic consequences of the Israeli attacks on Gaza’s hospitals, which led to the collapse of the health care system and made it impossible to obtain basic life-saving treatment.

He also spotlighted the impact of destruction of the health care system in Gaza, along with Israel’s restrictions on the entry and distribution of medical supplies, which caused a medical disaster and collective suffering.

“Israel once again reveals a new, ugly face of its crimes,” Abdel Khalek stated.

“After targeting civilians and killing more than 45,000 individuals—70% of whom were women and children—destroying the civilian infrastructure of the Strip, and killing hundreds of UN employees and humanitarian workers, Israel has now turned its barbaric fire on the Palestinian health sector.”

Abdel Khalek underlined demands by the Arab Group at the UN, as follows:

*First, the Security Council should issue a resolution under Chapter VII for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, enforce aid, and stop the policy of forced displacement aimed at liquidating the Palestinian cause.

*Second, the Security Council should oblige Israel by all political and legal means to implement the resolutions of the Council and the UN General Assembly and the provisional measures of the International Court of Justice issued since the beginning of the crisis and force it to enforce aid to save civilians from famine.

*Third, the Security Council should assume its duties to compel Israel immediately to stop attacks on hospitals and civilian facilities, and to immediately and unconditionally release the medical crews and patients it has arrested and provide them with protection, in implementation of international conventions.

*Fourth: Enforce accountability for repeated Israeli crimes, especially with regard to targeting hospitals and patients, which are the most heinous forms of Israel’s ongoing crimes in Gaza since October, and cooperate with international courts in prosecuting those responsible for all these crimes.

*Fifth: All countries that respect international law should immediately suspend their exports of weapons and ammunition used by Israel in this ongoing massacre for 16 months, in order to deprive Israel of the tool of killing and destruction.

At least 12 people were killed and many others injured early Friday in a series of Israeli airstrikes targeting different areas across the Gaza Strip, WAFA reported#Egypt #Africa #MENAhttps://t.co/QhRUeQitvW

— Egypt Today Magazine (@EgyptTodayMag) January 3, 2025