The Middle East, including the Palestinian Question: Open Briefing
Tomorrow afternoon (13 August), the Security Council will hold a briefing on “The situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question”. The briefing follows Algeria’s request, supported by Slovenia, for an urgent meeting to discuss the ongoing hostilities in Gaza and the 10 August Israeli strikes on a school sheltering displaced people. The anticipated briefers are Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs Rosemary DiCarlo and OCHA’s Director of the Financing and Partnerships Division Lisa Doughten.
The 10 August airstrikes by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) on the Tabi’een school compound in Gaza City is expected to be a key focus of tomorrow’s meeting. According to a 12 August OCHA update, the school was reportedly hosting hundreds of internally displaced families when it was hit. The airstrikes resulted in the killing of approximately 90 people, including six women and 11 children, according to figures provided by Palestinian officials in Gaza cited by OCHA. The update says that at least 70 bodies were reportedly transported to Al Ahli hospital, which “was overwhelmed by the mass casualty incident amid a critical shortage of medications, clean water and hospital beds”.
In a 10 August statement, the IDF said that the compound “served as an active Hamas and Islamic Jihad military facility”, from which militants were operating to “carry out terrorist attacks”, a claim that both groups have reportedly rejected. The IDF has also said that “the numbers published by the Hamas-run Government Information Office in Gaza, do not align with the information held by the IDF”.
The strike has sparked an outcry by key international interlocutors. In a 10 August statement, the UN Human Rights Office in the Occupied Palestinian Territory condemned the increasing frequency of IDF strikes on schools where “forcibly displaced Palestinians have sought shelter, conducted with apparent disregard for the high rate of civilian fatalities”. The statement says that the repeated strikes on these shelters “in areas to which the populations have been forced to move, and the consistent and predictable impact on civilians” suggest a failure to comply with international humanitarian law (IHL) obligations “[d]espite IDF statements that all measures are taken to avoid civilian harm”. It further notes that although “the co-location by armed groups of military objectives with civilians or the use of the presence of civilians with the objective of shielding a military objective from attack constitute violations of IHL, it does not negate Israel’s obligation to comply strictly with IHL”.
The dire humanitarian situation in Gaza is another expected focus of tomorrow’s briefing. Doughten may refer to new evacuation orders issued by Israel on 10 and 11 August for the area of Khan Younis, in the south of the Gaza Strip, which are forcing Palestinians, many of whom have already been displaced multiple times, to leave the area amid devastating humanitarian conditions. A 9 August OCHA update notes that “humanitarian aid entering Gaza has more than halved since the Rafah ground operation began and Rafah Crossing was abruptly closed in early May, dropping from a daily average of 169 trucks in April to 94 trucks per day in May to less than 80 trucks per day in June and July”. About 63 percent of the total structures in the Gaza Strip have been destroyed, damaged, or possibly damaged, according to a recent update by the UN Satellite Centre (UNOSAT).
Tomorrow, Council members are expected to express consternation at the high civilian death toll of the 10 August strikes, which several members may condemn. Consistent with positions expressed by Council members in previous meetings on the war between Israel and Hamas, some members are likely to strongly criticise Israel’s conduct, while others may opt for a less direct approach. For instance, at a 26 July open briefing on “The situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question”, Guyana argued that “the IDF has not been distinguishing between civilians and legitimate military targets”, adding that “we continue to witness a deliberate targeting of schools and shelters housing displaced persons on the pretext that the IDF is targeting Palestinian fighters”. The US, which has provided Israel with political and military backing throughout the war, might restate its view that, while Israel has a right to defend itself, it should “do more” to protect civilians. Members such as the UK and the US might also urge Hamas not to use civilian structures to carry out military operations.
More generally, members are expected to repeat their previous call for respecting IHL obligations, including the principles of distinction, proportionality, and precaution. Some might reference the 75th anniversary of the Geneva Conventions, which was marked today (12 August). Several members may also reiterate their condemnations of the 7 October 2023 Hamas-led attacks.
Members are expected to express concern at the humanitarian situation in Gaza and call for the urgent provision of humanitarian aid at scale. Several participants are likely to refer to the recent detection in the Gaza Strip of samples of variant poliovirus type 2. Noting that the virus’ circulation is putting unvaccinated children at risk, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced on 7 August a vaccination campaign for children under the age of eight and called for “absolute freedom of movement for health workers and medical equipment” to carry out these operations safely and effectively.
Members are also expected to reiterate their calls for a ceasefire and the release of all hostages. They may regret the lack of implementation of Security Council resolutions on the war, including resolution 2735 of 10 June, which welcomed a three-phase ceasefire proposal announced by US President Joe Biden on 31 May.
On 8 August, the US, Egypt, and Qatar—which have been mediating indirect talks between Israel and Hamas—issued a joint statement calling on both sides to resume “urgent discussion” on 15 August in Doha or Cairo. The statement says that a framework agreement “is now on the table with only the details of implementation left to conclude” and that it is based on the principles outlined by Biden on 31 May and endorsed by resolution 2735.
Tomorrow, several members are likely to call on both sides to approach the negotiations constructively. In an 11 August statement, Hamas asked mediators to “present a plan to implement what was agreed upon” on 2 July—a possible reference to the deals’ conditions as they stood before new demands were reportedly put forward by Israel. The statement—which according to Reuters casts doubts on Hamas’ participation in the 15 August talks—called on the mediators to “enforce” this version of the deal with Israel.
Israel is expected to attend the 15 August talks. But some commentators and key interlocutors such as Egypt have cast doubt on its commitment to reaching a deal following the 10 August airstrikes.
Tomorrow, members are also likely to express concern at the rising tensions across the Middle East and call for de-escalation. Fears of a regional conflagration have grown since the 31 July killing of Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran. While Israel neither claimed nor denied responsibility for Haniyeh’s killing, it had reportedly pledged to kill Haniyeh and other Hamas leaders over the 7 October 2023 attacks. Iran and Hamas accused Israel of Haniyeh’s assassination, with Iran stating in a 31 July letter to the Security Council that it will “respond decisively and promptly”. The announced retaliation is yet to take place, however, with the Permanent Mission of Iran to the UN in New York recently saying that its “response will be timed and conducted in a manner not to the detriment of the potential ceasefire”, according to a 9 August statement cited by media sources. (These developments were discussed in a 31 July Security Council emergency briefing which was requested by Algeria, China, and Russia following a request by Iran. For background, see the brief on Lebanon in our August 2024 Monthly Forecast.)
