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Ceasefire + Days 4, 5, 6 – Relief & More Evidence – Israel Captures Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza [1]
['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.']
Date: 2023-11-22
Two bright lights emerged from the black pit of the Israel-Hamas War in the past 5 days – a ceasefire, and relief for the beleaguered Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City. This diary discusses what we know so far about the ceasefire in this developing story; and looks at it from humanitarian, military and political perspectives, as well as what the future may hold. Then, the diary looks at the positive developments at the Al-Shifa Hospital now that relief has finally come. Finally, there is a poll at the end.
This diary also contains the next 3 days of the author’s daily reports on the Al-Shifa Hospital starting on November 15 when the IDF first entered the hospital. In addition to the positive developments, the diaries chronicle the issues around the legitimacy of the IDF’s actions, and what they found.
In addition, Israel’s objective in its attack became apparent to the author. And, the World Health Organization (WHO) visited the hospital and issued a statement on their visit. The section on the UN Security Council resolution on the war is reprinted from the previous diary. The text from the WHO Statement, the UN resolution and other relevant documents are given in an Appendix.
Please note that this diary is intended as a news report, and not an analysis or opinion piece. However, the section on Israel’s strategy & how it affected the hospital is the author’s analysis of the events and their meaning. (The author’s opinions on some evidence is made to explain why certain evidence isn’t pursued further.)
A poll is at the end.
The Day 1, Day 2 and Day 3 diaries are on the Daily Kos.
CEASEFIRE
Wednesday morning in the Middle East brought very welcome news of a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. They finally agreed to a ceasefire, and the release of some of the hostages. The primary points of the 6 page agreement are listed below in short bullets for easy reading and comprehension.
Start sometime on Thursday but may be delayed. Time is being worked out now.
To Last 4 Days.
Israeli hostages exchanged for Palestinian prisoners in Israel.
Earliest possible exchange is Thursday, but could be later.
Only women and children to be exchanged.
50 Israelis for 150 Palestinians.
Exchange in smaller groups over a period of days.
Can be extended 1 day for every 10 more Israeli hostages released.
International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to visit the Hostages.
More humanitarian aid to Gaza including fuel.
No fighting.
No changes in military lines.
Israeli drones in the north for only 6 hours a day.
No Israeli drones in the south.
Not all details public.
Humanitarian Perspective
The hostage for prisoner exchange is the humanitarian highlight of the agreement. Israel is to get 50 of it’s hostages back, and the ICRC is to visit the rest. Hamas is to free 150 of their prisoners.
The residents of Gaza will get a badly needed reprieve from the war, and especially Israel’s daily air attacks. Israeli residents will be free of the worry of rocket attacks by Hamas.
More food, medicine, water and other humanitarian aid is to be sent to Gaza, as well as more fuel.
Hopefully, Hezbollah in the north, the Palestinians on the West Bank, and Israel will honor this cease fire along their respective borders.
Military Perspective
The armies of both Israel and Hamas will benefit from the ceasefire. They have been fighting for almost 4 weeks since Israel’s invasion of Gaza on October 27. Four weeks is a long stretch for continuous fighting, and the soldiers need some rest and relaxation. Units also need to refit and reorganize, and Hamas certainly needs to strengthen their defenses.
Political Perspective
There are 5 parties involved in the negotiations – Israel, Hamas, Qatar, the United States and Egypt. Each has their own political considerations. Some of these are known to the public. Some of these are the author’s opinions.
For Israel, Netanyahu is under intense pressure at home to bring the hostages home. He is also under pressure from the United States to agree to a ceasefire. But, he is also under pressure from the far right wing of his coalition. He was able to secure their support in Wednesday’s cabinet vote of 35 – 3 in favor of the agreement, but he had to struggle to win the far right, and failed to win the furthest right who put him over the top in the last election.
The politics of Hamas is unknown publicly. However, one would think that they aren’t too popular right now with the residents of Gaza for having brought this war and devastation upon them. Exactly how this discontent can manifest itself in Gaza isn’t known.
In the US, President Biden is under a lot of pressure from the left wing of his party for a ceasefire at home, especially with an election coming up next year, and poor approval ratings.
The politics in Egypt isn’t well known publicly. Egypt still has to watch the Muslim Brotherhood at home, of whom Hamas is an offshoot of. Egypt also doesn’t want unrest on their borders, and doesn’t want the residents of Gaza in Egypt because they have stirred up trouble in the past.
The politics of Qatar also isn’t well known publicly. As the host for the negotiations, Qatar has gained status in the world. As the host of Hamas outside of Gaza, they lose status for hosting a terrorist country. Thus, it is in their interest to end the current war.
Future
To this author, the future for continuing the ceasefire is not good. Netanyahu vows to continue the war until Hamas is destroyed militarily in Gaza and removed from power there. And, Hamas hasn’t shown any inclination to back down, as they continue to fire missiles into Israel.
But, Biden is trying to extend the ceasefire, and end the war.
RELIEF of AL-SHIFA HOSPITAL
Finally, there was relief for the patients in the Al-Shifa Hospital, their doctors, nurses, and the staff. Most of them evacuated on Saturday (Day 4). We don’t know where they went, but hopefully they went south to greater safety. The 2500 people sheltering at the hospital also left. Where they went isn’t known either.
291 patients stayed behind with 25 health care workers to treat them. These patients could not be moved because of their illnesses.
On Saturday, Day 4, the IDF delivered over 5,000 pounds of food and 1,585 gallons of water to the hospital.
But, it doesn’t seem like we can have a feel good story out of Gaza without a bad side. The Director General of Hospitals in Gaza said that the IDF ordered all these people to evacuate at 8:00 am, gave them 1 hour to leave, and forced them to leave at gunpoint. He went on to describe more horrors encountered during the evacuation, and Director General of the Gaza Media Office added even more horrors. Israel said “the IDF acceded to the request of the director of the Shifa Hospital to enable additional Gazans who were in the hospital and would like to evacuate, to do so via the secure route.” Night and day stories.
It should be noted that it isn’t possible to evacuate all these people in an hour.
WHO STATEMENT — November 18, Day 4
On November 18 (Day 4) the World Health Organization (WHO), a UN Agency, conducted a one hour rapid situational analysis at the Al-Shifa Hospital along with five other UN Agencies (2 security, 2 projects, and 1 humanitarian), which are listed in the Appendix. Their time was limited by the security situation at the hospital. Afterwards, they issued a 2 page statement. Their statement is given in the Appendix. (The quotes below are from their statement.)
They found that the 2500 people sheltering at the hospital had left under orders from the IDF. (The IDF denies this as described above.) A number of patients along with hospital staff had left prior to their visit. (It isn’t known where these people went.) 291 patients remained along with 25 “health workers,” which is about 12 patients per health worker. These patients were too sick to leave. (It is unclear if the Director of the Hospital stayed behind or left, as no mention is made of him in the statement.)
The WHO described the hospital as a “death zone” and the situation as “desperate.” They said the hospital stopped “functioning as a medical facility.” The patients the WHO spoke to were “terrified for their safety and health, and pleaded for evacuation.”
The good news from their visit is that the agencies who visited the hospital “are urgently developing plans for the immediate evacuation of the remaining patients, staff and their families.” Over the next 3 days, “additional missions are being arranged to urgently transport patients” to hospitals in southern Gaza.
The IDF had asked and ordered the hospital to evacuate since October 13, well before Israel’s attack on the hospital. The hospital’s director, Dr. Muhammad Abu Salmiya, said that this was impossible. On November 10, 5 days before the IDF’s entry into the hospital, he said there was nowhere for such a large number of patients to go. Given the fear and pleadings of the remaining 291 patients to the WHO, this author has to wonder how much fear, pleadings, and deaths could have been avoided had the hospital been evacuated at some point after this evacuation was ordered.
TUNNELS, WEAPONS and MORE
The IDF presented three new pieces of evidence for military use of the hospital by Hamas — a new tunnel, CCTV of the hospital entrance, and CCTV of one of the vehicle entrances to the hospital. There is also another piece of evidence not covered earlier that involves the new tunnel, which is a pickup truck loaded with weapons. These will be discussed in reverse order, from simplest to most involved.
CCTV of a Vehicle Entrance
The IDF posted two pictures of captured Israeli military vehicles coming into the hospital on October 7, the day of Hamas’ attack into Israel. One is a truck and the other is a jeep. Israel claims that bringing military vehicles into a hospital proves military use of the hospital. However, these vehicles could have been bringing in injured soldiers (either Israeli or Hamas into the hospital for treatment). Furthermore, humanitarian law bans the storage of military vehicles in a hospital, not the entry of such vehicles into a hospital. (The pictures are not shown here because the Israeli contention is weak in the author’s opinion.)
CCTV of the Hospital Entrance
The IDF posted pictures and video of three hostages being taken into one of the entrances (for people) to the hospital on October 7, the day of Hamas’ attack into Israel. Israel claimed that the hospital was being used for military purposes to hold hostages, which is against international humanitarian law. However, these hostages could have been injured and taken to Al-Shifa for treatment — a humanitarian action. One of the hostages has an injured hand and is on a gurney. Another hostage is being dragged into the hospital, unable to use his legs. The third is able to walk and nothing is apparently wrong with him. (The pictures are not shown here because the Israeli contention is weak in the author’s opinion.)
Truck with Small Arms
Earlier, the IDF posted pictures of a pickup truck filled with a cache of small arms on November 16, Day 2. The IDF claimed that this truck represents military use of the hospital, and is not allowed by humanitarian law. The author couldn’t find any response from either Hamas or Al Jazeera about this pickup truck and the weapons it contained.
White Pickup Truck Covering Tunnel Entrance by Outer Wall. The weapons in the truck are laid out in the lower right.
The truck is parked near the outer wall of the hospital. A picture of the truck with its contents laid out in front of it is below. The location of the truck is on the map to the left of the pictures. The weapons consist of more than 5 AK-47 rifles, 53 ammunition clips for these rifles, 16 grenades, 1 RPG launcher, 2 RPG rounds, tactical gear, etc.
International humanitarian law doesn’t allow weapons to be stored in a hospital. It is one of the ways that a hospital can lose its protection from attack. However, international humanitarian law does allow for small arms in a hospital, but only on condition that a sick soldier brings them into the hospital, turns them in to the hospital, and the hospital hasn’t had a chance to give them to the authorities yet. The small arms could be from injured soldiers coming into the hospital, leaving their weapons in their truck, and forgetting to tell the hospital about them — an innocent act. However, having the truck parked next to the outside wall doesn’t sound like a place that injured soldiers would park, and have to walk to the hospital from. Furthermore, the truck is parked over the entrance hole to the tunnel described in the next sub-section.
Looking at the truck from a different point of view, one can reasonably say that the truck is ready for Hamas soldiers to jump into it and take off on a military mission. And, it is reasonable to say that the truck is over the entrance hole to the Hamas tunnel in order to hide it. Either of these reasons, as well as simply having so many small arms stored in a truck, could be considered military use of the hospital.
Tunnels — What’s Behind That Door ?
The IDF posted pictures and video of a newly found tunnel that they descended into on Saturday, November 18 (Day 4). CNN also visited this tunnel, but didn’t go in, and posted a report with video. The IDF claimed that this tunnel is a Hamas “terror tunnel.” If Israel is right, then this tunnel constitutes military use of the hospital.
The author couldn’t find any response from Hamas about this tunnel. Al Jazeera questioned this tunnel by referring to a military analyst who spoke to a civil engineer who suggested that two video clips were spliced together. They also suggested that this shaft couldn’t have been constructed in secret because noisy machinery would have to be used in its construction. Al Jazeera said that the tunnels look like other Hamas tunnels.
Pictures of the entrance to the tunnel are shown below. (The entrance has been damaged because the IDF blew up the truck, saying it was booby trapped.) Its location is under the truck shown above. There is a ladder going from the surface down into the hole. There is a narrow, spiral staircase coming up from the hole, but not meeting the ladder. The hole is quite large, especially in comparison to the hole found earlier in the week. There are two concrete pillars on either side of the hole. The spiral staircase appears to be attached to these pillars.
The entrance to the tunnel under the white pickup truck after blowing up the truck. There is a large concrete column at the top of the hole. (The truck was suspected of being booby trapped.)
The IDF sent a soldier down the shaft to find out its depth and what was at the end of the shaft. The shaft was 10 meters or 33 feet deep, and connected to a tunnel on one side. The tunnel is 55 meters or 60 yards long. A diagram of the shaft and tunnel is shown below.
Computer Rendering of the Shaft and Tunnel Found by the IDF.
The soldier followed the tunnel until it ended at the heavy door shown below, which the IDF described as a blast door. The door had a peep hole and a slit in it. The IDF did not try to open the door for fear of it being booby trapped.
It is not known what is on the other side of the door, nor where the tunnel leads to. The direction of the tunnel is unclear from the IDF video.
The Blast Door at the End of the Tunnel. The black square in the middle of the door contains the peep hole. The slit in the door is below the peep hole and partially cut off by the bottom of the picture.
On November 22, the IDF was able to open the blast door. They found there were rooms off the tunnel with doors on them, as shown below. They didn’t follow the tunnel any further, or at least didn’t report on it.
On the Other Side of the Blast Door — Doors to Two Rooms Off the Tunnel.
The facts about the tunnel can be summarized as follows.
Looking Down the Inside of the Tunnel. Note the arched roof characteristic of Hamas’ tunnels.
The truck is hiding the hole so it can’t be seen from the air, and moving the truck will allow easy access to and from the hole.
The shaft with the stairs is an entrance and exit to the tunnel. There can be no other purpose for it.
The tunnel shaft is inside the hospital grounds.
The tunnel is narrow with a semicircular corrugated roof that is like the other Hamas tunnels that have been shown previously, and verified by Al Jazeera. A picture from the inside of the tunnel found is to the right.
The door at the end blocks passage of people to the other side of the tunnel.
These facts do not point to a civilian tunnel. They point to a Hamas tunnel, and to the military tunnels that Hamas has built throughout Gaza.
If the conclusion is a Hamas tunnel, then this tunnel proves military use of the hospital by Hamas.
CNN examined the tunnel entrance and shaft at night. While the CNN reporter didn’t have enough light to see the bottom of the tunnel, CNN concluded that there is a tunnel at the end of the shaft. The open question for them, and the IDF, is what the tunnel connects to. In particular, does it connect to the command center, or headquarters, that the IDF has been claiming is under the hospital ?
ISRAEL’S ADVANCES as of DAY 3 and Day 7
[The section on Israel’s Advances is from the Day 3 report and is repeated below because the number of people who saw this report was limited. (The author posted it in the dead of night.)]
Israel’s advances as of Day 3 and Day 7 are shown in the maps below. The map is from WarMapper.org, who are known for their maps of the Russo-Ukraine War, and is considered reasonably reliable. (No maps are being published by Israel, Hamas, the US, or any other country.)
The IDF has surrounded all of Gaza City and controls the areas in blue. Hamas controls the areas in green. The IDF is advancing into the city from the west and north in certain areas. The Al-Shifa Hospital is shown by a small round circle surrounded by the IDF. (Note: The ISW map for Day 3 shows no advance by the IDF from Day 2 to 3, which is unrealistic, and consequently not used.)
Map of Northern Gaza, November 19. The Al-Shifa Hospital is in Israeli Controlled Territory.
Map of Northern Gaza, November 22. The Al-Shifa Hospital is in Israeli Controlled Territory.
ISRAEL’S STRATEGY and AL-SHIFA HOSPITAL (author’s opinion)
[The section on Israel’s Strategy is from the Day 3 report and is repeated below because the number of people who saw this report was limited. (The author posted it in the dead of night.)]
The Israeli strategy is to squeeze Hamas into an ever smaller area until all of Northern Gaza is captured.
The purpose of the attack on the Al-Shifa becomes clear in the larger context of Israel’s strategy. The purpose of the attack is to capture, control and hold the hospital. The hospital has to be captured to prevent the IDF from being attacked in the rear by Hamas as they move deeper into Gaza City.
The attack wasn’t simply to find and destroy Hamas’ headquarters, tunnels and weapons stored at the hospital, and then move on. It is to capture, control and hold the hospital, which requires the removal of Hamas from the hospital. The destruction of the headquarters, tunnels and weapons isn’t needed at all. If the headquarters are part of the underground structure of the hospital, and the tunnels are actually the utility tunnels of the hospital (as discussed in the Day 2 diary), then the IDF wouldn’t want to destroy them. Such destruction would collapse the buildings built over the underground structures, and sever the hospitals utilities stopping the hospital from functioning.
This larger view also explains why the IDF hasn’t found the headquarters, and why we don’t know more about the tunnels. Going into the tunnels and underground structures risks blowing them up from any explosive devices planted by Hamas. And, it isn’t necessary for capturing the hospital, as long as the IDF can isolate these tunnels from those outside the hospital. It also prevents losing soldiers to any booby traps planted by Hamas.
HOSTAGES
No new hostages were found in the past three days, either dead or alive.
The locations of where the two deceased hostages were found is shown on an overhead diagram by the IDF. A video of where the Corporal was found is posted by the IDF. The prior two diaries said that the hostages were found adjacent to the hospital because this is what the IDF said. However, this location is impossible because the hospital complex is bordered by streets on all sides. The hostages were in completely different locations. The Corporal was found 5 houses southeast of the hospital. The other hostage was found 3 houses (or buildings) east of the hospital.
The locations of the bodies were found by Israeli Intelligence, and were not provided by Hamas.
OTHER
[The report on the UN Resolution 2712 from the Day 3 report is repeated below because the number of people who saw this report was limited. (The author posted it in the dead of night.)]
The UN Security Council Resolution on the Israel-Hamas War (no. 2712) that wasn’t available on Day 2 became available the next day. It is given in the Appendix for reference herein.
The resolution was passed with 12 countries for, none against and 3 abstaining, including the United States. A list of the countries and how they voted is below.
For: China, Japan, France, Switzerland, Albania, Malta, United Arab Emirates, Mozambique, Gabon, Ghana, Ecuador, and Brazil.
Abstaining: Russian Federation, United Kingdom, and United States
Daily Kos readers should note that this is the only such list that is available now, as the UN hasn’t published the voting yet. (The author compiled this list from the current membership of the UN Security Council, and the reports of the countries who abstained.)
The resolution is wordy, and is in the language of UN diplomacy. The author has made an attempt to better understand the resolution, instead of relying only upon the media and a brief to very long description by the UN.
The first page of the resolution is the Preamble, and gives the background and reasons for the resolution. The second page is the Operative Part. Each numbered point is an action and must begin with a verb. The UN lists 103 verbs that can be used. Unfortunately, the UN doesn’t provide a dictionary for what the UN means by each verb.
Resolution 2712 uses three verbs for what Israel and Hamas are to do, and two verbs for internal administrative actions by the UN. The three verbs are “demands,” “calls” and “underscores.” To the author, “demands” sounds like the UN really means it, “calls” is less definite, and “underscores” means you should pay attention. In order to clarify this interpretation, the author checked the internet and found a long article on how to interpret UN resolutions, titled “The Interpretation of Security Council Resolutions” published in the Max Planck Institute's Yearbook of UN Law. The article summarizes the interpretation method starting on page 89. However, in the last paragraph on page 74, it states that there are no rules for interpreting Security Council Resolutions.
So, what does this resolution mean ? The first point, the demand point, is that “all parties” follow international law, including international humanitarian law. This demand is pretty straightforward, except when international law is vague, which is the case for some situations on when a hospital can be attacked.
The second point is a call, and calls for extended pauses in the fighting and safe passage. It lists a large number of actions called for under this point.
The third point is another call, and is short and to the point. It calls for the release of the hostages immediately and without any conditions, as well as immediate access to the hostages. It is the only place in the resolution that one of the parties is named, in this case Hamas.
=========== DIARY ABOVE ==========APPENDIX BELOW =============
APPENDIX
WHO STATEMENT
WHO leads very high-risk joint humanitarian mission to Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza
18 November 2023 Statement Reading time: 3 min (717 words)
Earlier today, a joint UN humanitarian assessment team led by WHO accessed Al-Shifa Hospital in northern Gaza to assess the situation on the ground, conduct a rapid situational analysis, assess medical priorities and establish logistics options for further missions. The team included public health experts, logistics officers and security staff from OCHA, UNDSS, UNMAS/UNOPS, UNRWA and WHO.
[Author’s Note: UNDSS – United Nations Department for Safety and Security; UNMAS – United Nations Mine Action Service; OCHA –United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs; UNOPS – United Nations Office for Project Services; UNRWA – United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East; WHO – World Health Organization].
The mission was deconflicted with the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) to ensure safe passage along the agreed route. However, this was a high-risk operation in an active conflict zone, with heavy fighting ongoing in close proximity to the hospital.
Earlier in the day, the IDF had issued evacuation orders to the remaining 2500 internally displaced people who had been seeking refuge on the hospital grounds. They, along with a number of mobile patients and hospital staff, had already vacated the facility by the time of the team's arrival.
Due to time limits associated with the security situation, the team was able to spend only one hour inside the hospital, which they described as a “death zone,” and the situation as “desperate.” Signs of shelling and gunfire were evident. The team saw a mass grave at the entrance of the hospital and was told more than 80 people were buried there.
Lack of clean water, fuel, medicines, food and other essential aid over the last 6 weeks have caused Al-Shifa Hospital – once the largest, most advanced and best equipped referral hospital in Gaza – to essentially stop functioning as a medical facility. The team observed that due to the security situation, it has been impossible for the staff to carry out effective waste management in the hospital. Corridors and the hospital grounds were filled with medical and solid waste, increasing the risk of infection. Patients and health staff with whom they spoke were terrified for their safety and health, and pleaded for evacuation. Al-Shifa Hospital can no longer admit patients, with the injured and sick now being directed to the seriously overwhelmed and barely functioning Indonesian Hospital.
There are 25 health workers and 291 patients remaining in Al-Shifa, with several patient deaths having occurred over the previous 2 to 3 days due to the shutting down of medical services. Patients include 32 babies in extremely critical condition, 2 people in intensive care without ventilation, and 22 dialysis patients whose access to life-saving treatment has been severely compromised. The vast majority of patients are victims of war trauma, including many with complex fractures and amputations, head injuries, burns, chest and abdominal trauma, and 29 patients with serious spinal injuries who are unable to move without medical assistance. Many trauma patients have severely infected wounds due to lack of infection control measures in the hospital and unavailability of antibiotics.
Given the current state of the hospital, which is no longer operational or admitting new patients, the team was requested to evacuate health workers and patients to other facilities. WHO and partners are urgently developing plans for theimmediate evacuation of the remaining patients, staff and their families. Over the next 24–72 hours, pending guarantees of safe passage by parties to the conflict, additional missions are being arranged to urgently transport patients from Al-Shifa to Nasser Medical Complex and European Gaza Hospital in the south of Gaza. However, these hospitals are already working beyond capacity, and new referrals from Al-Shifa Hospital will further strain overburdened health staff and resources.
WHO is deeply concerned about the safety and health needs of patients, health workers and internally displaced people sheltering at the few remaining partially functional hospitals in the north, which are facing the risk of closure due to a lack of fuel, water, medical supplies and food, and the intense hostilities. Immediate efforts must be made to restore the functionality of Al-Shifa and all other hospitals to provide urgently needed health services in Gaza.
WHO reiterates its plea for collective efforts to bring an end to the hostilities and humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza. We call for an immediate ceasefire, the sustained flow of humanitarian assistance at scale, unhindered humanitarian access to all of those in need, the unconditional release of all hostages, and the cessation of attacks on health care and other vital infrastructure. The extreme suffering of the people of Gaza demands that we respond immediately and concretely with humanity and compassion.
UN SECURITY RESOLUTION 2712 (on the Israel-Hamas War, but referred to as “the situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question)
Resolution 2712 (2023)
Adopted by the Security Council at its 9479th meeting, on 15 November 2023
(page 1)
The Security Council,
Reaffirming the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations,
Reaffirming that all parties to conflicts must adhere to their obligations under international law, including international humanitarian law and international human rights law,
Stressing that international humanitarian law provides general protection for children as persons taking no part in hostilities, and special protection as persons who are particularly vulnerable, and recalling that the taking of hostages is prohibited under international law,
Recalling that all parties to armed conflict must comply strictly with the obligations applicable to them under international law for the protection of children in armed conflict, including those contained in the Geneva Conventions of 12th Augu st 1949 and the Additional Protocols of 1977, as well as the relevant conventions regarding the involvement of children in conflict situations,
Expressing deep concern at the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip and its grave impact on the civilian population, especially the disproportionate effect on children, underlining the urgent need for full, rapid, safe, and unhindered humanitarian access, and stressing the humanitarian principles of humanity, impartiality, neutrality, and independence and the obligation to respect and protect humanitarian relief personnel,
Rejecting forced displacement of the civilian population, including children, in violation of international law, including international humanitarian law and international human rights law,
Expressing deep concern that the disruption of access to education has a dramatic impact on children, and that conflict has lifelong effects on their physical and mental health,
Commending the ongoing efforts of several regional and international actors as well as of the Secretary-General of the United Nations to address the hostage and humanitarian crises,
(Page 2)
1. Demands that all parties comply with their obligations under international law, including international humanitarian law, notably with regard to the protection of civilians, especially children;
2. Calls for urgent and extended humanitarian pauses and corridors throughout the Gaza Strip for a sufficient number of days to enable, consistent with international humanitarian law, the full, rapid, safe, and unhindered humanitarian access for United Nations humanitarian agencies and their implementing partners, the International Committee of the Red Cross and other impartial humanitarian organizations, to facilitate the continuous, sufficient and unhindered provision of essential goods and services important to the well-being of civilians, especially children, throughout the Gaza Strip, including water, electricity, fuel, food, and medical supplies, as well as emergency repairs to essential infrastructure, and to enable urgent rescue and recovery efforts, including for missing children in damaged and destroyed buildings, and including the medical evacuation of sick or injured children and their care givers;
3. Calls for the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages held by Hamas and other groups, especially children, as well as ensuring immediate humanitarian access;
4. Calls on all parties to refrain from depriving the civilian population in the Gaza Strip of basic services and humanitarian assistance indispensable to their survival, consistent with international humanitarian law, which has a disproportionate impact on children, welcomes the initial, although limited, provision of humanitarian supplies to civilians in the Gaza Strip and calls for the scaling up of the provision of such supplies to meet the humanitarian needs of the civilian population, especially children;
5. Underscores the importance of coordination, humanitarian notification, and deconfliction mechanisms, to protect all medical and humanitarian staff, vehicles including ambulances, humanitarian sites, and critical infrastructure, including UN facilities, and to help facilitate the movement of aid convoys and patients, in particular sick and injured children and their care givers;
6. Requests the Secretary-General to report orally to the Security Council on the implementation of this resolution at the next mandated meeting of the Security Council on the situation in the Middle East, and further requests the Secretary- General to identify options to effectively monitor the implementation of this resolution as a matter of prime concern;
7. Decides to remain seized of the matter.
[END]
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