Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged Tuesday to launch an incursion into the southern Gaza city of Rafah, where hundreds of thousands of Palestinians are sheltering from the 7-month-long war.
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00:00 "Nearly seven months after 7 October, the situation for people in Gaza is worsening
00:05 by the day. I've called consistently for a humanitarian ceasefire, the immediate and
00:12 unconditional release of all hostages, and a massive surge in humanitarian aid. Unfortunately,
00:20 that has not happened yet. But negotiations are once again underway. For the sake of the
00:29 people of Gaza, for the sake of the hostages and their families in Israel, and for the
00:35 sake of the region and the wider world, I strongly encourage the Government of Israel
00:40 and Hamas leadership to reach now an agreement. Recent weeks have seen airstrikes on the Rafah
00:49 area. A military assault on Rafah would be an unbearable escalation, killing thousands
00:56 more civilians and forcing hundreds of thousands to flee. It would have a devastating impact
01:03 on Palestinians in Gaza, with serious repercussions on the occupied West Bank and across the wider
01:10 region. A major obstacle to distributing aid across Gaza is the lack of security for humanitarians
01:16 and the people we serve. Humanitarian convoys, facilities and personnel, and people in need
01:23 must not be targets. We welcome aid delivery by air and sea, but there is no alternative
01:32 to the massive use of land routes. I again call on the Israeli authorities to allow and
01:38 facilitate safe, rapid and unimpeded access for humanitarian aid and humanitarian workers,
01:45 including UNRWA, throughout Gaza. We recognize the replaceable and indispensable work of
01:51 UNRWA to support millions of people in Gaza, the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem,
01:57 Jordan, Syria and Lebanon. Following the report by Ms. Catherine Colonna on mechanisms and
02:07 procedures to ensure UNRWA's adherence to the humanitarian principle of neutrality,
02:13 an action plan is being put in place to implement the recommendations of the report. I appeal
02:19 to donors, host countries and staff to cooperate with this effort.
02:23 Some hospitals now resemble cemeteries. I am deeply alarmed by reports that mass graves
02:30 have been discovered in several locations in Gaza, including Al-Shifa Medical Complex
02:36 and Nasser Medical Complex. In Nasser alone, over 390 bodies have reportedly been exhumed.
02:45 There are competing narratives around several of these mass graves, including serious allegations
02:51 that some of those buried were unlawfully killed. It is imperative that independent
02:58 international investigators with forensic expertise are allowed immediate access to
03:05 the sites of these mass graves to establish the precise circumstances under which hundreds
03:10 of Palestinians lost their lives and were buried or reburied.