Photos and children’s shoes in Queens Gardens, Brisbane, representing just some of the children killed in Gaza. Source: Melody Kelly
The leaders of 18 UN agencies have called for an immediate ceasefire in Israel’s war on Gaza, expressing their “shock and horror” at the surging number of Palestinian civilian deaths.
The UN leaders made a rare joint plea on Sunday, stating: “We need an immediate humanitarian ceasefire. It’s been 30 days. Enough is enough.”
“This must stop now.”
The leaders, including the leaders of UNICEF, UN Women, the World Food Program, and the World Health Organisation (WHO), have described the killings as “horrific.”
Over 1,400 civilians were killed on October 7th in Israel by Hamas, while a staggering 9,770 Palestinians, most of whom are children, have been killed by Israeli forces in less than a month.
“For almost a month, the world has been watching the unfolding situation in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory in shock and horror at the spiralling numbers of lives lost and torn apart,” the UN leaders said.
The UN leaders are calling on all parties to respect their “obligations under international humanitarian and human rights law”, including the protection of civilian infrastructure in Gaza, including schools and hospitals, and the allowance of aid into Gaza.
The joint statement read that it is “unacceptable” that millions of civilians in Gaza are being denied essential needs and services on top of being “bombed in their homes, shelters, hospitals and places of worship.”
The UN has also condemned the killing of dozens of aid workers.
“More than 100 attacks against health care have been reported,” they said. “Scores of aid workers have been killed since October 7 including 88 UNRWA colleagues – the highest number of United Nations fatalities ever recorded in a single conflict.”
