Ban calls for immediate ceasefire in Gaza

With the crisis in Gaza and southern Israel having reached its fifth day, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today appealed for an urgent ceasefire to end the violence and to allow crucial humanitarian aid to reach Gazans.

“The civilian population, the fabric of Gaza, the future of the peace process, stability in the region, and goodwill among people throughout the world: all are trapped between the irresponsibility displayed in the indiscriminate rocket attacks by Hamas militants and the disproportionality of the continuing Israeli military operation,” Mr. Ban told the Security Council this evening.

“All will be further threatened if the conflict continues or escalates to a new phase of deadly violence,” he cautioned.

The impact of the recent fighting – which has claimed over 300 lives, including those of dozens of women and children – has been “nothing short of terrifying” for the 1.5 million people in Gaza, the Secretary-General told the emergency meeting convened at the request of Libya and Egypt on behalf of the Arab Group.

Southern Israel has seen a “continuous stream” of rockets launched from Gaza by Palestinian militants, with longer-range weapons with hundreds of thousands of people in range hitting major cities, he noted.

“It is the civilian populations that are bearing the brunt of this escalation, and there must be swift and decisive action by the international community to bring to an end their suffering,” Mr. Ban told the Council.

Without a halt to the violence, humanitarian supplies cannot reach the vulnerable and civilians cannot leave their homes to access medical care, he said, calling on all parties to deal with the humanitarian and economic needs in Gaza.

“I urge all members of the international community, in particular those in the region, to exert what influence they have on the parties to end this violence now,” Mr. Ban said. “I welcome the efforts underway, including by Arab and European leaders but I must repeat: not enough has been done, and more is urgently required.”

He stressed that the underlying issue must not be forgotten, stating that “there must be an end to occupation, an end to conflict, and the creation of a Palestinian State” and calling for the fulfilment of the goal of “two States, Israel and Palestine, living side by side in peace and security, and a just, lasting and comprehensive peace in the region.”

At a news conference earlier in the day, John Holmes, UN Emergency Relief Coordinator, expressed disappointment that Israel has so far rejected the idea of a 48-hour in the fighting, but voiced hope that “diplomatic efforts to achieve a ceasefire will bear some fruit in the coming days.”

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert was quoted by media reports as saying conditions were not yet ripe for a ceasefire since they had not yet reached the point of promising safety in southern Israel which has been targeted by increasingly longer-range Hamas missiles from Gaza.

Speaking by video link from Gaza at the same news conference, UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) Commissioner-General Karen AbuZayd portrayed the deep disappointment felt by ordinary Gazans.

“This is something that had gone round the public in the markets and so on for those people who are venturing out and they were very disappointed because they''d been rather cheerful, thinking ''oh good, it's going to stop for a couple of days at least and we''ll get things in and we'll have a little bit of peace from the noise of the bombs and the noise of the drones overhead,''” she said.

She noted the traumatic effect the air strikes were having on the civilian population, with some parents trying to quiet their alarmed children by telling them the bombs were the sounds of wedding celebrations.

Ms. AbuZayd said she was not optimistic over the prospects for a ceasefire.

Mr. Holmes said it was difficult to get reliable figures on casualties, which have ranged from 320 to 380 dead and 1,500 to 1,900 wounded. Ms. AbuZayd estimated “conservatively” that a quarter of the dead were civilians, with 41 children and probably the same number of women killed. Four Israelis have been killed by Hamas rockets.

“This is a very bloody operation by anybody''s standards, even by the standards of that part of the world, and it's hard to exaggerate the degree of constant fear felt by those in Gaza in particular as the attacks continue every 20 minutes or so in many cases both during the day and during the night,” Mr. Holmes, who also serves as Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, said.

“Of course there is stress on the Israeli side, too, because of the constant threat of rockets which continue to fall, and falling in new towns and cities as the range increases,” he added, appealing to all parties to respect international humanitarian law, in particular the distinction between combatants and civilians, and responding in a proportionate way to any attacks.

“That's conspicuous mostly by its absence so far. But apart from that, the biggest need remains an immediate ceasefire, one that is fully respected by all sides so that we can have the chance to get humanitarian goods in a more systematic way and to deal with all the casualties and damage that''s happened so far.”

Israel has closed most crossing points into Gaza, citing the rockets attacks, but some 60 truckloads of food, medicines and other supplies were allowed through today. That compares with over 125 a day in October, and 475 a day in May 2007. The fuel pipeline remains closed and Gaza power station had to shut down yesterday. Mr. Holmes said Israeli military and civilian authorities had been cooperative “but we need to see more results,” with the major needs remaining food, medical supplies, fuel and cash.

Ms. AbuZayd said the Israeli authorities were very good in checking what UNRWA needs. “They've been very good lately to let us bring in whatever we say we need. Our problem is more that there's no capacity to bring in everything we need,” she added, also noting that Israel warns the agency if there are going to be air strikes near where its workers are operating.

Earlier today UN Humanitarian Coordinator in the occupied Palestinian territory Maxwell Gaylard said it was essential that Karni, larger than the currently open Keren Shalom crossing, be opened to bring in wheat since UNRWA had none left for the 750,000 people who need it, warning, “we are in a life or death situation for many people.

“We need fuel to the power station so that the power plant goes back on. Gaza's hospitals are facing their largest ever trauma caseloads under some of the most adverse conditions imaginable. They must have reliable power,” he said.

“We are in hourly contact with the Israeli authorities. They are offering their cooperation and we are offering ours. They have been responsive to specific requests, which we appreciate. But the gravity of the situation now demands more. Today, we need that cooperation translated into real results on the ground.”

UN Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict Radhika Coomaraswamy called on all parties to commit to an immediate cessation to the violence. “The situation in Gaza is unbearable for the civilian population and especially for children. They are trapped within the conflict and deprived of their fundamental human rights. Children are victims of the bombings and traumatized by the escalation of violence. The access to humanitarian aid, basic services, education, and medical assistance is severely hampered,” she said.