The UN Security Council held its monthly session on Thursday on the situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian issue.

The Council heard a briefing by the United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, Tor Wennesland, and a speech by the Head of the Health Emergencies Unit at Save the Children International, Louisa Baxter.

In their speeches, delegates and representatives of member states agreed on the need to reach an immediate ceasefire and allow aid to enter all parts of the Gaza Strip, including polio vaccines, warning of an escalation of regional tensions if the war on the Gaza Strip continues.

Wennesland stresses need for ceasefire in Gaza

In his briefing to the Council via video from occupied Jerusalem, the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, Tor Wennesland, said the situation in the region was “combustible,” warning that any spark or miscalculation could ignite a series of “uncontrollable” escalations, which he said “could plunge millions of people into the conflict.”

"We are now at a turning point in the Middle East," Wennesland said, after 321 days of Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip, stressing that "reaching a ceasefire agreement and releasing the hostages is now necessary for regional peace and security."

He warned that if any of these issues remain unresolved, "the prospects for a more stable, peaceful and secure region will remain elusive."

He called for working to reach a ceasefire agreement in the coming days, stressing that "there is no time to waste."

Wennesland said the United Nations remains committed and ready to increase humanitarian assistance during the ceasefire and support the implementation of the agreement, stressing that "only a sustainable ceasefire can enable a comprehensive humanitarian response and early recovery in Gaza."

Tor Wennesland said that the war on Gaza continues to inflict heavy losses in human lives, noting that more than 40,000 Palestinians have been killed, after more than ten months of war.

Regarding the situation in the occupied West Bank, Wennesland said that it is a "powder keg", referring to the incursions carried out by the Israeli occupation forces in Area A, including targeting densely populated refugee camps and Palestinian urban centers, stressing that "the violence must stop if we want to prevent another escalation."

He stressed that "the only way out of these vicious circles of despair is through a political horizon that ends the occupation and achieves the two-state solution," stressing that the United Nations will continue to support all efforts to achieve this goal.

Save the Child: Gaza's Children Under Bombardment, Death and Siege

In turn, the head of the health emergency unit of Save the Children International, Louisa Baxter, said in a video address from the city of Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip, that it is “surrounded by massive destruction,” adding that “more than 1.9 million people have been displaced from their homes and places of residence and are moving in streets filled with rubble, garbage and sewage.”

She pointed out that the children of Gaza endured - for 320 days - continuous bombing, death, displacement and siege.

She added that according to the data, "more than 1% of the total number of children in Gaza - 14,000 children - were killed, and this estimate is likely to be a significant underestimate, as the figure has not been updated since May. The bodies of at least 10,000 people, many of them children, are still missing."

“The organization’s medical teams examined more than 13,000 people at the organization’s clinic in Deir al-Balah. The children we treat show signs of profound trauma. Common childhood diseases have been exacerbated by malnutrition, lack of water and the absence of simple medicines. Israel has also prevented the entry of supplies of antibiotics, painkillers and even refrigerators to store vaccines,” she continued.

“We are witnessing a deliberate and repeated obstruction of humanitarian aid in Gaza. My team has been waiting for life-saving medicines for four months. They are held at the crossings under multiple (Israeli) rules and restrictions, many of which are unwritten and arbitrary,” she explained.

Baxter noted that "a polio outbreak has now been confirmed in Gaza, with the first confirmed case being a 10-month-old child in Deir al-Balah - describing it as "an individual tragedy, and a sign of a larger catastrophe looming."

She warned that if preventive measures were not taken immediately, a polio outbreak would not only be a disaster for Gaza's children, but could also lead to a significant setback in global eradication efforts.

“Polio anywhere is a threat to children everywhere,” she continued. “As we speak, polio is spreading in Gaza, and it will not wait at the inspection gate at Kerem Shalom or the customs office at Lod Airport.”

To respond effectively to the polio outbreak in Gaza, Louisa Baxter said a sustained cessation of hostilities, lasting at least a week at a time, must begin immediately.

She said this timeframe assumes that all attacks on humanitarian and medical workers must stop now and permanently. “Aid groups must be able to move across Gaza unhindered. People must be able to take their children to vaccination points safely.”

She explained that regardless of the status of the ceasefire, “full and unhindered humanitarian access to and within the Gaza Strip is essential for all humanitarian supplies and personnel.”

On the other hand, Louise Baxter said that Save the Children's protection teams in Gaza work with children released from Israeli detention, noting that these children reported being subjected to "sexual violence, including rape. They reported being deprived of food, beaten, and attacked by dogs. They report seeing their parents being stripped and beaten in front of them. These children struggle to deal with the profound trauma and psychological and physical harm caused by this."

“We have collectively failed the children of Gaza for 320 days,” she concluded. “I ask this Council and its Member States, in their national capacity, to take immediate and decisive action. We leave this matter in your hands.”

China: Israel turns a deaf ear to calls for ceasefire

"Israel's military operations in the Gaza Strip continue, and there are new casualties every day," Chinese Permanent Representative Fu Cong told the council, adding that "Israel is turning a deaf ear to calls for a ceasefire."

He continued that Israel continues to have a "blind belief in military victory" that will lead to more civilian casualties, and said that a political solution is the only "fundamental way out" of the crisis.

He urged Israel to fulfil its obligations under international humanitarian law, including opening border crossing points to relief aid.

Meanwhile, he warned that peace in the region was "hanging by a thread."

France calls for immediate ceasefire to end civilian suffering in Gaza

In turn, the Deputy Permanent Representative of France to the United Nations, Natalie Broadhurst, said that her country renews its call for an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip to put an end to "the suffering of the civilian population and to enable the delivery of humanitarian aid on a large scale and without hindrance."

She said that France reiterated the concerns of the UN Secretary-General about the health situation, especially the resurgence of polio cases in Gaza.

"France calls on Israel to take all necessary measures to enable the vaccination of the population," she added.

UK: Gaza has become the deadliest place for children in the world

“Gaza has become the deadliest place for children in the world,” said James Kariuki, Deputy Permanent Representative of the United Kingdom. “Women and children continue to bear the brunt of this brutal conflict which has killed more than 40,000 people since 7 October, with children accounting for nearly a third of the recorded casualties.”

He reiterated calls for an "immediate ceasefire," noting that talks to reach an agreement "provide a vital opportunity to secure an immediate ceasefire that ends the conflict, releases hostages, allows urgent access for aid, and de-escalates regional tensions."

He touched on the visit of his country's foreign minister and the French foreign minister to Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories last week, where they conveyed three main messages: "that the current ceasefire negotiations are the only way to avoid a full-blown regional crisis, that the humanitarian situation is catastrophic and we need to see immediate improvements, and that there must be accountability for the horrific violence perpetrated by settlers in the West Bank."

"I hope we can all unite around these messages today," he said.

US calls for more aid, including polio vaccines

US Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield spoke about the US proposal for a ceasefire in Gaza, adding that "no one in the region should take any action that would undermine the talks...We now have a path forward to save lives."

"As members of the Council, we must speak with one voice. This is a critical moment for the ceasefire talks," she continued.

She stressed that "the United Nations and other humanitarian agencies must prepare to provide more aid to Gaza, including polio vaccines."