United Nations (TDI): Addressing an emotionally charged UN Security Council session on the worsening humanitarian crisis in Gaza, Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar issued a grim warning that the world is watching a genocide unfold in real time, and the UN has failed to stop it.
Speaking at the Council’s debate on the Middle East, Dar emphasized that the brutal targeting of civilian infrastructure, including hospitals, schools, refugee shelters, and humanitarian aid missions, was not coincidental. “These are deliberate acts of collective punishment,” he said.
Dar accused the international system of losing credibility, stating, “The question of Palestine is not just a political issue, it is a test of the legitimacy of this Council, of the UN, and of international law itself. Ignoring the rights of Palestinians only fuels lawlessness and erodes the global order.”
Dar presented a roadmap for ending the bloodshed and beginning recovery. His six-point proposal called for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire; guaranteed access for humanitarian aid and security for aid workers; renewed support for UNRWA’s operations; an end to forced displacements and illegal Israeli settlements; implementation of a reconstruction plan led by Arab and Islamic nations; and a revived peace process leading to a two-state solution, based on pre-1967 borders with East Jerusalem as the Palestinian capital.
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He expressed support for the upcoming International Conference on the two-state solution, scheduled for July 28 in Paris and co-hosted by Saudi Arabia and France, calling it a step toward lasting peace.
Riyad Mansour, the Palestinian Permanent Observer to the UN, gave an impassioned speech, recounting the deaths of two children, a four-year-old girl and a six-week-old baby, who died of starvation in the past day.
“Gaza’s children are not simply hungry; they are being intentionally starved,” Mansour said. He accused Israel of systematically destroying homes, schools, places of worship, and even graveyards.
He warned that 80 percent of Gaza’s population has been uprooted, with the clear aim being the elimination of the remaining two million Palestinians. “Every day you fail to act, you authorize more deaths,” he told Council members. “Ask yourselves: what would you do if your own child was dying like this?”
Khaled Khiari, a senior UN official for the Middle East, described Gaza as “a humanitarian nightmare of historic proportions.” He noted that nearly 1,900 Palestinians had been killed since late June, nearly 300 of them while waiting for aid.
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Denmark’s representative Christina Markus Lassen painted a bleak picture of the overcrowded and devastated enclave, saying civilians are now confined to under 14% of the territory and face death from bombs, hunger, or disease.
Russia’s envoy accused the US of obstructing peace through its unwavering support for Israel. He insisted that peace would only come through acceptance of the two-state solution and mutual coexistence.
Farkhund Yousafzai is an Associate Editor at The Diplomatic Insight.
