Bendjama: Time for Security Council to Act Against Zionist Aggression on Gaza

Algeria’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Amar Bendjama, declared on Wednesday from New York that the moment has arrived for “decisive action” by the UN Security Council to halt Zionist aggression against Gaza, as the lives of Palestinian civilians hang in the balance.

In his address during the emergency meeting of the Security Council concerning “the situation in the Middle East, including the Palestine issue,” which was convened at Algeria’s request, Bendjama noted that while the international community observes World Food Day today, “Palestinians in Gaza are suffering and struggling to find food that has been denied to them, facing an uncertain future.”

He emphasized that the briefing presented during this session made it clear that not only does the Zionist government disregard international humanitarian law, but it has also violated the fundamental human rights of the Palestinian people in Gaza for over a year, subjecting them to unimaginable suffering. He stressed that the occupation “knows no bounds when it comes to punishing Palestinian civilians.”

In this context, Ambassador Bendjama asserted that “Palestinian civilians should not be targets of Zionist military operations; they are entitled to protection under international law. The Zionist government must fulfill its obligations in this regard, particularly concerning the starvation of civilians as a tool of war and the deprivation of essential materials for survival while obstructing humanitarian aid.”

Discussing the second polio vaccination campaign in Gaza, which began this week and reached over 157,000 Palestinian children, the Algerian ambassador posed a critical question: “How is it possible to vaccinate this number of children while food cannot be delivered to them? How were the trucks carrying this vaccine permitted access, while trucks carrying food are denied entry to Palestinians?” He emphasized that “this is not a secondary consequence; rather, it is a deliberate policy of starvation imposed by the Zionist regime on the Palestinian people.”

In this regard, the Algerian diplomat noted that despite the International Court of Justice’s advisory ruling calling for immediate and effective measures by the Zionist occupation to provide urgent basic services and humanitarian assistance to alleviate the dire living conditions faced by Palestinians in Gaza, as well as Security Council Resolution 2728 demanding the removal of all obstacles to humanitarian aid, the Zionist government “has ignored these decisions, closed border crossings, tightened restrictions on aid access, and employed unethical starvation as a weapon of war.”

The speaker reminded attendees that during the session on October 9, the Council raised concerns about the humanitarian assistance situation in Gaza, where September recorded the lowest levels of aid since October 2023. The Council expressed grave concern regarding the occupation’s actions, which impeded nearly 90% of humanitarian movements between northern and southern Gaza last September, adding that the occupation’s response to these concerns was “more restrictions and the killing of Palestinian civilians.”

In this respect, he noted that last week, only six trucks per day were allowed to enter Gaza, compared to the 500 trucks that previously passed through daily before the crisis.

Ambassador Bendjama highlighted that the occupation’s disregard for Palestinian lives has not ceased; instead, it has intensified its tactical methods and introduced new levels of cruelty to its actions. For instance, last Sunday night, it bombed tents for displaced persons near Al-Aqsa Hospital, resulting in the horrific deaths of at least four Palestinians who were burned alive before being killed, underscoring the Zionist government’s blatant disrespect for the sanctity of life.

He further stressed in his remarks that “the situation in Gaza is on the brink of further deterioration, with the potential for the occupation to enact legislation aimed at halting UNRWA operations,” noting that such actions “would deprive the residents of Gaza of a cornerstone of humanitarian work and complicate the humanitarian missions of the United Nations.”

In conclusion, he pointed out that the occupation does not heed anyone—not the International Court of Justice, nor the UN General Assembly, nor the Security Council—adding, “However, this Security Council possesses the authority and tools to ensure the enforcement of its resolutions, and the time for decisive action has come, as the lives of Palestinian civilians are at stake.”