Palestinians inspect the damage to a house following an Israeli strike in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on November 18, 2023. AFP
In his statement, Abdel-Khalek stated that "describing the humanitarian situation in Gaza as catastrophic is an understatement," pointing to the ongoing Israeli attacks on civilians and humanitarian institutions.
"Thousands of civilians have been killed by indiscriminate Israeli military action, and Israeli attacks on hospitals, schools, and UN personnel continue unabated," Abdel-Khalek stated.
While the civilized world calls for a ceasefire, Israel remains indifferent to these appeals and continues its criminal aggression against the people of Gaza, he continued.
“Israel, and unfortunately, a small minority of the members of this assembly, continue to make baseless claims of self-defense or the ludicrous claim that Palestinian civilians are to blame for their current plight,” he explained.
In this regard, Abdel-Khalek affirmed that Egypt firmly rejects these allegations and continues to call for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire, as well as full and unrestricted humanitarian access to all areas of Gaza.
Furthermore, Abdel-Khaleq stated, “We [Egypt] welcome that the Security Council has finally pronounced itself on the current situation, having adopted its Resolution 2712 which calls for urgent and extended humanitarian pauses."
This resolution is a first step towards a complete and sustained ceasefire, but without Israel's implementation, it will be added to a long list of Security Council resolutions that have been ignored by that state, he continued.
Abdel-Khalek reaffirmed that Egypt will continue to make every possible effort to provide humanitarian assistance to Gaza.
Egypt has contributed 75 percent of the 12,000 tons of aid delivered to Gaza, Abdel-Khalek stated.
In this regard, he reiterated that the Rafah crossing remains open from the Egyptian side and that Israel is responsible for delaying the delivery of aid.
He also blamed Israel for refusing to open other crossings as part of a strategy to make conditions in Gaza unbearable, with the goal of displacing Palestinians to neighbouring countries, Abdel-Khalek continued.
Concluding his remarks, Abdel-Khalek reaffirmed Egypt’s pledges to continue working closely with the UN and other humanitarian partners to deliver assistance to Gaza.
In that regard, a UN technical team is on the ground in Egypt and is working closely with local authorities and civil society, he elaborated.
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