NEW YORK, August 10, 2025 (WAFA) - The UN Security Council convened an emergency session Sunday in New York to discuss the escalating situation in Gaza, responding to Israel’s plan to further expand its military operation inside the Gaza Strip and take full control of the key population center of Gaza City.
Miroslav Jenča, Assistant Secretary-General for Europe, Central Asia and the Americas, during his briefing to the 15-member organ, said, “The latest decision by the Government of Israel risks igniting another horrific chapter in this conflict, with potential consequences beyond Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory.”
“I am extremely concerned over the prolonged conflict and further human toll that is likely to unfold following the Government of Israel’s decision to expand military operations in Gaza,” said Ramesh Rajasingham, Head of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Geneva and Director of the Coordination Division, in his briefing to the Council. “This marks a grave escalation in a conflict that has already inflicted unimaginable suffering.”
He said: “States – all those with any influence – must look within our bruised collective conscience and summon the courage to do what is necessary to end this inhumanity and pain, he said. Civilians must be protected, and hostages must be released unconditionally. Arbitrarily detained Palestinians must be freed. Israel must agree to and facilitate humanitarian relief operations, both into and within the Gaza Strip, to reach the population in need.”
He emphasized that the International Court of Justice’s provisional measures in the case on the application of the Genocide Convention in Gaza remain in place, including the demand that Israel take immediate and effective measures to enable the provision of urgently needed basic services and humanitarian assistance.
The representative of the United Kingdom said that his delegation, along with other European members of the Council, requested the meeting in response to the Government of Israel’s decision to further escalate its military operations in Gaza.
“This decision is wrong,” he said, urging Israel to reconsider it immediately, as expanding military operations will do nothing to bring an end to this conflict. “This is not a path to resolution. It is a path to more bloodshed.”
Somalia’s representative affirmed that Israel’s announcement of its intention to impose military control over the entire Gaza Strip is not an abstraction. "It is a chilling blueprint for the next chapter of devastation." "For the 2 million people still trapped in Gaza, it means the escalation of what has already become hell on earth, literally and figuratively, leading to the world’s worst man-made famine."
He recalled that the International Court of Justice “was unequivocal” that the occupation, blockade, denial of humanitarian access, and actions resulting in collective punishment violate international law. Stressing the necessity of preserving the legal and historical status quo at the Islamic and Christian holy sites in Jerusalem, he stated: “True security cannot be built on top of the ruins of justice.”
Urging for a permanent ceasefire, he called the moment “a test for all of humanity”, as silence “is not neutrality. For all the victims, it is a verdict”.
Denmark’s delegate said, “For months, the world has watched in despair as conditions in Gaza have grown more catastrophic by the day,” urging Israel to reverse its decision, which will not secure the release of the hostages but only cause further bloodshed.
Categorically rejecting any forced displacement, she cited the advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice that any unilateral attempts to alter the demography or status of the Gaza Strip constitute a clear violation of international law. Today, the entire strip faces famine-like conditions.
“This is unconscionable,” she asserted, deploring the killing of starving civilians trying to get food. “The alarming frequency and scale of these incidents are simply unacceptable,” she stressed, calling for transparent investigations into these incidents. “We urge the warring parties to stop burying peace in the rubble,” she stated.
Several countries, including the United Kingdom, France, Denmark, Slovenia, and Greece, called for an urgent meeting of the UN Security Council regarding the situation in Gaza.
The countries condemned the Israeli government’s decision to expand its military operations in Gaza, warning that the plan violates international humanitarian law and urged Israel to immediately reverse its decision and halt its implementation.
They affirmed that any attempt to annex land or expand colonial settlements breaches international law.
They stressed that expanding military operations endangers the lives of all civilians in Gaza, including the remaining hostages, and would cause unnecessary suffering, exacerbate the already catastrophic humanitarian situation, and expose Palestinian civilians to further loss of life and mass displacement.
T.R.
