UN humanitarian chief says Israel must follow same rules for civilian protection

States and armed groups must uphold the rules -- forged because of the horrors of conflict and hatred -- that protect civilians in war, Fletcher told a Security Council meeting on the humanitarian situation in Gaza.

"Today, across the world, we watch these rules being corroded and degraded. Again, it is of course for you (the Security Council members) to decide how you act to ensure that all parties respect international humanitarian law. But I agree with some members of the Israeli Cabinet that you have consistently overestimated your powers of quiet persuasion," he said.

"We hold all parties to the standards of international law in this conflict. We don't have to choose -- and in fact, we must not choose -- between demanding the end to the starvation of civilians in Gaza and demanding the unconditional release of all the hostages. And we must reject antisemitism. We must fight it with every fibre of our DNA. But we must also hold Israel to the same principles and laws of all other states," he said.

Civilians must be protected wherever they are, hostages must be released, humanitarian aid must be allowed to enter at scale, and humanitarian workers must be protected, Fletcher stressed.

Weeks ago, an Israeli minister called allowing aid into Gaza a "disastrous decision," while another implied that starvation might be "justified and moral" until hostages are freed, Fletcher said. "Intentionally using the starvation of civilians as a method of warfare would of course be a war crime."

Most recently, Israel's defence minister talked openly about moving Palestinians into what he called a "humanitarian city," said Fletcher. "We understand that the proposal is to forcibly displace Palestinians to a designated zone near Rafah. Now I don't know how to describe this, but it is not humanitarian."

He warned that the humanitarian situation in Gaza is dire. Starvation rates among children hit their highest levels in June, with over 5,800 girls and boys diagnosed as acutely malnourished. Last week, children and women were killed in a strike while waiting for the food supplements to keep them alive, he said.

The health system is shattered. Only 17 of 36 hospitals and 63 of 170 primary health care centers are functioning, all only partially, even as mass casualties arrive daily. Water, sanitation systems are broken, and the fuel crisis in Gaza remains at a critical threshold, he added.

Gaza's soaring humanitarian needs must be met without drawing people into a firing line. Israel, as the occupying power, is obligated to ensure that people have food and medical supplies. But that is not happening. Instead, civilians are exposed to death and injury, forcible displacement, stripped of dignity, said Fletcher.

"It is for you (the members of the Security Council) to draw your own conclusions. But surely, we do not need to debate whether killing civilians waiting in line for life's essentials meets the responsibility to provide for civilian needs," he said, referring to the militarised mode of humanitarian aid distribution carried out by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), which is run by the United States with the approval of the Israeli authorities.

Contrary to established international humanitarian norms for distributing relief in hundreds of local communities, the GHF set up only four sites in the whole of Gaza in restricted Israeli military zones, where starving civilians enter through fenced lanes under the eyes of armed security contractors. Chaos results in gunfire.

Fletcher said humanitarians face access barriers created by the Israeli authorities. The Israeli authorities are also making the delivery of humanitarian aid in Gaza complicated, he added.

With these obstacles in place, the aid may never reach UN distribution points. And even if it does, getting it at scale to those in need remains deeply uncertain, he said.

The International Court of Justice has demanded that Israel take immediate and effective measures to enable the provision of urgently needed basic services and humanitarian assistance, he said.

"With these facts before you, I ask you as a council to assess whether Israel is meeting its international legal obligations and whether we humanitarians can fulfill our mandate. Is this allowing and facilitating rapid, unimpeded passage of impartial humanitarian relief, as the rules of war demand? Or is it obstruction? You will draw your own conclusions," he said.

---BERNAMA-XINHUA