Gaza, Dec 18: UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Martin Griffiths said on Monday a special tribunal could be needed to oversee events in Gaza, saying the impunity for killing humanitarian workers “has never been greater.”
“The impunity that goes along with choosing war as your first option has never been greater. And the impunity for killing humanitarian aid workers has never been greater.
The impunity we have seen rampant in this war… Maybe there is a need for a special tribunal [for Gaza],” Griffiths was quoted as saying by the Financial Times newspaper.
He added that the humanitarian crisis in Gaza was the “worst ever” and was on the verge of entering a new phase, as it is a “disease, hunger, that is beginning to be the leading cause of death and deprivation.
” Griffiths added that suffering in the enclave was “terrible” and would get worse.
The UN official said it remained to be seen what would be found under the rubble.
For now, estimates are that about 18,000 people have died, but “once you start digging under the rubble, the statistics change radically,” Griffiths explained.
He also said there was no evidence that Israel was more accurate in its strikes in southern Gaza than in the north, although “the Americans did a lot of diplomacy on this.”
“The truth of the matter is that we have not seen it at all in the south. On the contrary, we’ve seen it grow more,” he told the newspaper.
Meanwhile, the official said he had to scrap his 10-point plan presented in November, which called for an expansion of humanitarian aid into the enclave and more restrained Israeli operations, as well as calls for a humanitarian ceasefire and the release of hostages.
“I just threw it in the bin… I was a fool to even think that it was sensible… We turn around and find out the truth: the war ain’t over yet, it ain’t half over… I don’t think we’re halfway through this yet. We’ve got weeks and weeks to go of this savage war,” he said.
In early December, the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) said the number of its staff killed during strikes on the Gaza Strip since October 7 had risen to 111.
On October 7, Palestinian movement Hamas launched a large-scale rocket attack against Israel from the Gaza Strip across the border, killing over 1,200 people and abducting some 240 others.
Israel launched retaliatory strikes, ordered a complete blockade of Gaza and launched a ground incursion into the Palestinian enclave with the declared goal of eliminating Hamas fighters and rescuing the hostages.
Over 18,700 people have been killed so far in Gaza as a result of the conflict, according to local authorities.
(UNI)
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