UN speaker urges immediate ceasefire, release of hostages and major aid scale-up for Gaza

Rosemary DeCarlo told the meeting that an immediate ceasefire, the unconditional release of all remaining hostages and a major increase in humanitarian assistance are urgently needed in Gaza.

“All hostages must be released immediately and unconditionally,” DeCarlo said, noting that Israeli forces had recently recovered the bodies of six hostages and that, “at least 101 hostages are still held in Gaza.” She attributed the killing of those recovered to the Israeli government's reporting that some hostages had been shot at close range.

DeCarlo described a deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza, saying Israeli military operations continue and citing figures from the Gaza Ministry of Health that, since July, approximately 41,000 Palestinians have been killed. She said thousands of Palestinian families have been displaced—many multiple times—and that most cannot access medical services, water or sanitation.

At the same time, she said, rockets launched by Hamas and other armed groups toward Israeli population centers continue, and civilian infrastructure in Gaza is reportedly being used to shield fighters, endangering civilians on both sides.

DeCarlo welcomed ongoing mediation efforts by Egypt, Qatar and the United States and cited recent talks in Doha and Cairo, saying "more must be done to reach a deal without further delay." She also noted arrangements between U.N. agencies and the Israeli Defense Forces to pause military activity in designated vaccination areas for a polio campaign, saying those pauses "have so far been respected." The polio campaign, she added, offered a rare ray of hope in the midst of the crisis.

Turning to the occupied West Bank, DeCarlo warned of an alarming uptick in violence, citing large-scale Israeli operations in Jenin, Tulkarm and Tubas, including air strikes and clashes that resulted in civilian casualties and infrastructure damage. She said that since July some 630 Palestinians and 15 Israelis have been killed in the West Bank and East Jerusalem and called for all perpetrators, Israeli or Palestinian, to be held accountable.

DeCarlo also condemned provocative acts and statements that she said inflame tensions, including calls for further violence by armed groups and recent inflammatory acts and statements by an unnamed Israeli minister at Jerusalem's holy sites. "The status quo at the holy sites in Jerusalem must be respected and upheld," she said, and she reminded the assembly of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan's custodial role at those sites.

She closed by restating the U.N. view that a durable peace requires a viable, sovereign Palestinian state living side-by-side with Israel on the basis of pre-1967 lines, and appealed to the international community to support efforts toward that objective.

The meeting proceeded after DeCarlo's remarks with an announcement that OCHA Director Osorno would brief the assembly on the humanitarian situation, and no formal vote or decision followed DeCarlo's statement at this session.