ISLAMABAD (PEN) : Pakistan has called on the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) to take immediate and decisive action to halt the deepening humanitarian crisis in Gaza, now under an Israeli blockade for over two months.
Speaking at a UNSC briefing on the humanitarian situation and the safety of aid workers in Gaza, Pakistan’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad, warned that the ongoing crisis has reached “catastrophic proportions.”
“We, this Council, and those most responsible, are being judged, and will be judged in posterity. Let us come together and act, united, in the interest of peace, for the sake of humanity,” said Ambassador Asim.
UN Official Decries Conditions in Gaza
Thomas Fletcher, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, opened the session by stating that Israel is “deliberately and unashamedly imposing inhumane conditions on civilians” in Gaza.
He revealed that no food, medicine, or water has entered Gaza for more than 10 weeks and questioned how future generations would view the global response to what he described as a “21st century atrocity.”
Humanitarian Collapse Detailed
Ambassador Asim echoed these concerns, emphasizing the scale of the crisis:
Over 2 million people, half of them children, are enduring extreme deprivation.
Hospitals have ceased to function, aid is blocked, and famine is already a grim reality.* One in three children under two is suffering from acute malnutrition.
According to the latest Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) by the World Food Programme (WFP), 470,000 people in Gaza are experiencing catastrophic hunger, with the entire population facing acute food insecurity.
The WFP ran out of food stock on April 25, and all 25 WFP-supported bakeries have been shut due to shortages of flour and fuel.
“What we are witnessing is not incidental – it is the systematic destruction of a civilian population,” the Pakistani envoy stated.
Violations of International Humanitarian Law
Ambassador Asim condemned repeated attacks on hospitals, UN staff, and humanitarian convoys, including the deaths of 290 UNRWA personnel. He stressed that these acts contravene the Geneva Conventions, which prohibit starvation, attacks on medical facilities, and the obstruction of aid.
He also criticized the proposed Israeli-controlled ‘aid coordination mechanism,’ which would reduce humanitarian access points from 400 to just five near military zones.
“It undermines the core humanitarian principles of neutrality and impartiality and risks transforming aid into a tool of coercion and forced displacement,” said Asim.
The Humanitarian Country Team for the Occupied Palestinian Territory, representing over 200 NGOs and 15 UN agencies, has rejected the plan, warning it is designed to weaponize life-sustaining aid.
Pakistan Calls for Ceasefire and Full Access for Aid
Ambassador Asim called for a “permanent and unconditional” ceasefire, the lifting of the blockade, and the protection of medical teams and aid convoys.
He insisted that the normalization of starvation as a weapon of war must end and that accountability must follow. UNRWA, the agency serving Palestinian refugees, must be allowed to operate without interference, he added.
Root Cause: Continued Occupation
The ambassador reiterated Pakistan’s position that a just and lasting peace requires addressing the root cause: the ongoing occupation of Palestinian territory.
“The only viable path to peace lies in a just resolution of the Palestinian question based on the two-state solution, along the pre-1967 borders, with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as the capital of a sovereign and independent Palestinian State,” he said.
He also expressed hope that the upcoming international conference in June, co-chaired by France and Saudi Arabia, would produce a concrete roadmap for Palestinian statehood and an end to illegal settlement activities.
Palestinian Envoy Calls for Immediate Action
Palestinian Ambassador Riyadh Mansour echoed the call for urgent intervention.
“Time is our enemy. Especially as hunger eats away at our children, at our babies, at their mothers… The international community cannot wait, nor resign, nor surrender. It has to act, by any and all means necessary.”
