Gaza Crisis: Ceasefire Talks Fail, UN Calls for Immediate Action

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Published Jun 22, 2024

Briefing by Mr. Tor Wennesland, Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process and Personal Representative of the Secretary-General, on the situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question.

The Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, Tor Wennesland, today (20 May) told the Security Council that “regrettably we face yet another precipice of further catastrophe in Gaza amid stalled talks between the parties to secure the release of all hostages held in Gaza and a ceasefire to provide much needed relief to the civilian population.”

Wennesland noted that “just two weeks ago negotiations were ongoing in Cairo with the support of Egypt, Qatar and the United States, however, these talks ended on 9 May without agreement.”

He urged the parties “to redouble all efforts and return to the negotiating table immediately and in good faith.”

The Special Coordinator told the Council that since operations began in early May, “more than 800,000 people have been displaced from Rafah to Mawasi, Khan Younis and Deir al Balah amid daily IDF airstrikes in Rafah, killing dozens of Palestinians.”

Hamas, he said, has also “continued to fire rockets indiscriminately from Gaza towards Israel.”

Noting that “these events have had a significant impact on humanitarian operations and access,” Wennesland said, “the so-called expanded humanitarian area in al-Mawasi lacks adequate shelter, food, water and sewage infrastructure, and crossings for the entry of humanitarian goods have already been directly affected.”

He said he was “deeply concerned that the current trajectory – including the possibility of a larger-scale operation – will further undermine efforts to scale-up the entry of humanitarian goods and their safe distribution to desperate civilians.”