Five UN Security Council Members Condemn Israel’s Plan to Occupy Gaza

ISTANBUL: Five members of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) on Sunday publicly condemned Israel’s reported plan to occupy Gaza, Anadolu Agency reported.

“We condemn the decision of the Israeli government to further expand military operations in Gaza. This plan risks violating international humanitarian law,” Slovenia’s UN Ambassador Samuel Zbogar said in a joint statement on behalf of Slovenia, Britain, France, Denmark, and Greece.

The statement urged Israel to “immediately revoke this decision and refrain from implementing it,” warning that expanding the military campaign would endanger the lives of civilians and remaining hostages while breaching international law.

Expressing deep concern over the worsening situation in Gaza, Zbogar said, “Children are dying from starvation. The famine is so severe that desperate civilians are risking being killed at aid distribution points just to feed their families.”

The five countries described the situation as a “man-made crisis” requiring urgent action to end hunger and increase humanitarian aid deliveries to Gaza. They called on Israel to lift restrictions on aid shipments and to scrap “unreasonable visa and registration requirements” imposed on international NGOs.

The joint statement also called for an immediate ceasefire, the release of hostages, and renewed efforts toward a two-state solution.

Israel is facing mounting global outrage over its ongoing military offensive in Gaza, which has killed more than 61,000 people since October 2023. The campaign has devastated the enclave and pushed its population to the brink of famine.