Two UN officials last night reiterated the need for an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and to increase humanitarian aid provided to the Strip.

This came during a session held by the UN Security Council to discuss the situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian issue, as it listened to two briefings from the Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs, Rosemary DiCarlo, and the Director of Operations and Advocacy at the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), Edem and Sorno.

"It has been almost a year since the war on Gaza began, and more efforts must be made to reach a ceasefire agreement," DiCarlo said in her briefing, welcoming the ongoing efforts made by Egypt, Qatar and the United States to reach an agreement.

The UN official stressed that the United Nations will remain committed to supporting all efforts aimed at achieving this goal.

For her part, Wesorno said in her briefing that "the recent developments in Gaza and the West Bank" compel us to reaffirm the equal value of every human life.

She pointed out that the goal of international humanitarian law is to limit the consequences of war by setting minimum standards of conduct with the aim of protecting civilians and meeting their needs.

She added that respect for international humanitarian law and international human rights law is not optional, reiterating the need to protect civilians and meet their basic needs.

She expressed grave concern over the human losses resulting from the Israeli attack on the West Bank, stressing that any use of force must be consistent with international human rights law and standards governing law enforcement.

Despite the Security Council adopting two resolutions last March and June calling for an end to the war in Gaza, Israel has continued this war since October 7, 2023, leaving more than 135,000 martyrs and wounded, most of them children and women, and more than 10,000 missing, amid massive destruction and deadly famine.

In parallel with its war on Gaza, the Israeli occupation forces expanded their aggression and the settlers escalated their attacks in the West Bank, including Jerusalem, resulting in the martyrdom of 700 citizens and the injury of about 6,000 others.