UN chief appalled by attacks on civilians

The killing of civilians trying to get food and in displacement sites in Gaza has shocked UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, with the special rapporteur calling for an arms and trade embargo against Israel.

Guterres "is appalled by the deepening humanitarian crisis in Gaza", UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said at a news briefing on Thursday. "Multiple attacks in recent days hitting sites hosting displaced people and people trying to access food have killed and injured scores of Palestinians".

"The secretary-general strongly condemns the loss of civilian life," Dujarric said, adding that Guterres also reiterated his call for an immediate and permanent ceasefire and the unconditional release of all hostages held by Hamas and other groups.

More than 160 NGOs called for immediate action to end the deadly Israeli distribution scheme, including under the so-called Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, after 500 Palestinians had been killed and 4,000 were injured in less than four weeks trying to access or distribute food, a joint statement revealed.

In another tally, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said on Friday it has recorded 613 killings in Gaza near humanitarian convoys and at aid distribution points run by an Israeli-backed US organization since it first began operations in late May.

On Thursday, Israeli authorities issued a new evacuation order in parts of Gaza City, affecting some 40,000 people and including a displacement site, a medical center and one of the few neighborhoods that had remained untouched by such orders since before the March ceasefire. Since the ceasefire collapsed, over 50 such orders have been issued, now covering 78 percent of Gaza's territory, according to the UN.

At a Geneva conference of the Human Rights Council on Thursday, Francesca Albanese, the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, called on countries to cut off all trade and financial ties with Israel, including a full arms embargo.

Decisive steps urged

Dina Yulianti Sulaeman, director of the Indonesia Center for Middle East Studies, calls for "more decisive steps".

"The world has been given too much moral rhetoric without consequences for those who blatantly violate international law," Sulaeman told China Daily.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is scheduled to meet US President Donald Trump on Monday.

"In this context, the meeting between Trump and Netanyahu needs to be interpreted as the US continuing to provide political legitimacy to Israeli policies that have clearly caused massive death and starvation in Gaza. If the UN really cares about humanity, they must dare to use international mechanisms to pressure Israel, not just express 'concern'," said Sulaeman from Indonesia.

Before the meeting with Netanyahu, the US president said on Friday it would probably be known in 24 hours whether Hamas has agreed to accept what he has called a "final proposal".

Trump also said he had spoken to Saudi Arabia about expanding the Abraham Accords, the deal on normalization of ties that his administration negotiated between Israel and some Gulf countries during his first term.

Hamas said on Friday it was holding consultations with other Palestinian movements on a truce proposal in the war with Israel, in a possible sign that it was preparing for negotiations for a ceasefire in Gaza.

Agencies contributed to this story.

jan@chinadailypac.com