UN condemns violence in Gaza and West Bank, urges Israel to resume aid deliveries

Sigrid Kaag, United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Ad Interim, addresses the United Nations Security Council, Mar. 21, 2025. (AP)

• Middle East peace envoy Sigrid Kaag denounces settlement expansions; says ‘nothing can justify the collective punishment of the Palestinian people’
• She calls on Hamas to release remaining hostages; warns both sides to respect obligations under international humanitarian and human rights laws

NEW YORK CITY: A top UN official on Friday condemned ongoing violence in Gaza and the occupied West Bank, urged all parties to respect international humanitarian and human rights laws, and called for an immediate ceasefire and the resumption of aid deliveries to Gaza.
During a meeting of the Security Council, the third this week on events in the region, the UN’s special coordinator for the Middle East peace process, Sigrid Kaag, also condemned the expansion of Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, and warned that continuing violations of Security Council Resolution 2334 are damaging the prospects for a two-state solution.
Adopted in 2016, Resolution 2334 calls for “immediate steps to prevent all acts of violence against civilians, including acts of terror, as well as all acts of provocation and destruction,” along with the reversal of “negative trends on the ground that are imperiling the two-state solution.”
In a report presented to the council, Kaag said Israeli authorities have approved about 10,600 new housing units in settlements, including 4,920 in East Jerusalem, despite the resolution’s demand for a halt to such activities.
Her report also highlighted a sharp increase in seizures and demolitions of Palestinian-owned properties. It said that during the reporting period, from Dec. 7, 2024, to March 13, 2025, at least 460 structures were destroyed, displacing 576 Palestinians, including nearly 300 children.
Such actions have been strongly criticized by the UN as a violation of international law, and Kaag reiterated that they undermine hopes for a viable Palestinian state.
“Unfortunately, the high number of fatal incidents across the Occupied Palestinian Territory and Israel precludes me from detailing all,” she continued.
The situation in Gaza continues to be dire, Kaag said, with the UN confirming that at least 3,860 Palestinians were killed during the reporting period, and about 6,000 injured. The humanitarian crisis in the war-battered enclave remains “catastrophic,” as Israeli authorities have halted the entry of essential goods and supplies. Access to clean water is restricted for more than half a million people there, and the already fragile health infrastructure has been severely affected.
Kaag reiterated that the provision of humanitarian aid “is not negotiable” and deliveries must be allowed to reach those in need. She strongly condemned the blocking of aid to Gaza by Israeli authorities, as well as “the widespread killing” and wounding of civilians, and the destruction of civilian infrastructure.
“Nothing can justify the collective punishment of the Palestinian people,” she said.
Kaag also condemned “indiscriminate attacks and the use of human shields” by Hamas, and stressed that all parties involved must “respect their obligations under international humanitarian law and international human rights law.”
She called for the immediate release of the 59 remaining Israeli hostages taken by Hamas and other Palestinian groups during the attacks on Oct. 7, 2023, 24 of whom are alive and 35 dead.
“Palestinian armed groups continued to hold hostages in horrific conditions, and fired rockets indiscriminately towards Israel,” said Kaag. “Hostages must be released immediately and unconditionally.
“I strongly condemn the reported ill-treatment of hostages. I remain appalled that there are reasonable grounds to believe that hostages may be subjected to sexual violence and abuse. I also reiterate my condemnation of Hamas’s abhorrent public displays accompanying the release of living and deceased hostages.”
Kaag also condemned the reported ill-treatment, including sexual abuse, of Palestinians held in Israeli detention facilities and said that when detainees are released, this must also be carried out in a dignified way.
Violence in the West Bank continues to escalate, with Israeli military operations and settler-related violence contributing to rising casualty figures. At least 123 Palestinians, including women and children, have been killed. Meanwhile, 10 Israelis, including children, have lost their lives in attacks by Palestinians. Rising tensions within Palestinian refugee camps, particularly in Jenin and Tulkarem, have resulted in the widespread displacement of occupants and the demolition of homes.
“The escalation of violence in the occupied West Bank is deeply troubling,” Kaag said. “Alongside the rising death toll, Palestinian refugee camps in the northern West Bank are being emptied and sustaining massive infrastructure damage during Israeli operations.”
Kaag rejected any attempt to forcibly displace Palestinians from the occupied territories, warning that such action amounts to “a grave violation of international human rights and humanitarian law.”
She condemned violence on both sides of the conflict and called for a policy of “maximum restraint” from the security forces. Lethal force must only be used when “strictly unavoidable to protect life,” she added.
Kaag also expressed alarm over ongoing attacks on Palestinians by Israeli settlers, some of which have occurred with the support of Israeli security forces.
In addition, she voiced concern about the ongoing Israeli efforts to undermine the UN Relief and Works Agency, which provides vital aid and services to Palestinian refugees.
In her closing remarks, she emphasized the need for a political process within which to resolve the ongoing conflict between the Israelis and Palestinians.
“We must work collectively to establish a political framework that outlines tangible, irreversible and time-bound steps,” she said.
“A viable two-state solution — Israel and Palestine, of which Gaza is an integral part, living side-by-side in peace and security — is long overdue.”