Gaza - New York: Europe and the Arabs
Sichrid Kaag, the UN's senior humanitarian and reconstruction coordinator in Gaza, visited the Strip on Wednesday, where she visited the recently opened Kissufim crossing. The visit came after her meeting with the new Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar in Jerusalem.
Stephane Dujarric, the UN spokesman, said that the meeting between Kaag and Sa'ar discussed humanitarian measures that need urgent follow-up. Dujarric added that the UN official informed the Israeli Foreign Minister that she will brief the Security Council on the 10th of this month. According to the UN daily news bulletin
On the other hand, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said that the Palestinians - exhausted by the ongoing conflict and repeated displacement - are facing a severe and ongoing water shortage. The office quoted municipal data as saying that water production across Gaza has decreased by 9% over the past month. There is also significant water loss due to damage to the infrastructure, which leads to several problems, including leakage through the pipes. The Palestinian Water Authority estimates that more than 80% of the water sector in Gaza has been damaged, including wells, pumping stations, desalination, distribution networks and sewage treatment.
On the health front, Stephane Dujarric said that thousands of patients in Gaza need medical evacuation outside the Strip to receive life-saving treatment. On Tuesday, the World Health Organization evacuated 11 children with cancer and their companions from Gaza to Jordan.
The organization reported that Kamal Adwan Hospital, in northern Gaza, was attacked again on Tuesday evening. Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization, said that three hospital staff were injured and called for the protection of all health workers, patients and medical facilities.
Dujarric said that this attack comes days after an emergency medical team was deployed to the hospital for the first time in two months. In the same context, the United Nations General Assembly resumed its tenth emergency special session on illegal Israeli actions in the occupied Palestinian territory, which was first held in April 1997.
The President of the General Assembly decided to resume this tenth emergency special session at the request of the heads of the Arab Group, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation Group and the Coordination Bureau of the Non-Aligned Movement. The session was held at 3:00 pm yesterday, Wednesday, December 4, and will resume at 10:00 am next Wednesday, December 11.
The President of the United Nations General Assembly, Philemon Yang, said at the beginning of his speech that the people of Gaza and Israel have suffered for more than a year from continuous cycles of death, destruction and displacement. He said that the demands of the international community are clear, and are also reflected in the draft resolution submitted to the Security Council on November 20, which was supported by 14 members of the Council and "was blocked by the use of the veto by one permanent member of the Council", referring to the United States of America.
Yang added that "the Security Council has been paralyzed once again" and that it is unable to fulfill its primary responsibility to maintain international peace and security. “Once again, the General Assembly is called upon to take the lead on the situation in the occupied Palestinian territory,” he said.

The President of the General Assembly added that the Palestinian-Israeli conflict cannot be resolved through endless war and occupation, “the conflict will only end when Israelis and Palestinians can live side by side in their independent, sovereign States in peace, security and dignity.”
He stressed that it is time for the international community to take decisive and meaningful action on this issue. “We must strive to achieve a just, comprehensive and lasting solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, based on international law, the Charter of the United Nations and relevant United Nations resolutions,” he said.

Yang also stressed the need for all States to respect international law and United Nations resolutions, and said that this applies to the status of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), which was established and mandated by the United Nations General Assembly.
He said that UNRWA provides protection, shelter, water, food, education and health services to millions of Palestinians, especially under the most difficult conditions in Gaza. He pointed to the threat to the future of UNRWA in the occupied Palestinian territory.
He reiterated his concern about the recent decision by the Israeli parliament to adopt two laws that, if implemented, would prevent the Agency from carrying out its work in Gaza and the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem. He called on the Government of Israel to comply with its international obligations and allow UNRWA to continue its vital work in accordance with its mandate from the General Assembly.