Leaders of several United Nations agencies have publicly condemned Israel’s war with Iran that launched last week ― warning of the humanitarian and civilian toll that has already begun on both sides, and stressing that the public not forget about the continued destruction of Gaza and the Palestinian people.
Israel and Iran have been exchanging attacks on each other since Friday, when the former launched an assault on the latter’s top military leaders and nuclear infrastructure. Israeli forces have since killed more than 220 people in Tehran, while Iran’s retaliatory missiles have killed at least two dozen in Tel Aviv, Petah Tikva and Haifa.
“The military escalation between Israel and Iran is deeply worrying,” UN human rights chief Volker Türk said on Monday. “I join all those appealing for deescalation and urgent diplomatic negotiations to end these attacks and find a way forward. And I call for full respect of international law by both sides, in particular the protection of civilians in densely populated areas.”
UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell echoed the concern for civilians, saying that “children are once again paying the ultimate price” of war and violence.
Michael M. Santiago via Getty Images
Many of the images coming out of Israel’s bombed neighborhoods show similarities with the livestreamed horrors of Gaza, the Palestinian territory that for the last 20 months Israeli forces have tried to essentially wipe off the map. Despite much of the international community condemning the military offensive as war crimes and genocide, Israel continues to keep its foot on Gaza’s neck.
“The Palestinians of Gaza are very much hurt by this conflict [with Iran] because it diverts attention wholly away from Gaza, which was the central issue of the region and a major issue between the [Trump] administration and the Israeli government,” former Ambassador Barbara Leaf, who was assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern Affairs under the Biden administration, said on a Monday panel with the Middle East Institute.
Phillipe Lazzarini, who leads the UN’s agency tasked with providing assistance for Palestinians (UNRWA), made similar comments on Monday ― stressing that Israeli forces continue, without consequence, to kill “scores of people” in Gaza and block most aid from entering “while attention shifts elsewhere.”
“Killings & wars will breed more wars & bloodshed,” Lazzarini posted on X. “Civilians will always suffer first & suffer most.”
Israel claims it is providing aid to Palestinians through its U.S.-supported, militarized aid distribution system that the UN and aid groups have widely condemned. Starving Palestinians are either dying from disease due to a weakened immune system, or they’re getting shot at by Israeli forces while waiting in line for food. No fuel has entered Gaza for more than 100 days, preventing hospitals and clinics from having the resources to save patients.
“No fuel means no power for ventilators, dialysis machines, anesthesia equipment and incubators. No fuel means no medical evacuations or patient transfers can take place. No fuel means vaccine cold chain systems could fail,” WHO chief Tedros Ghebreyesus said on Monday. “No fuel means no health care.”
AFP via Getty Images
Though Israel has served as an occupying power to Palestinians for decades, the current campaign of violence in Gaza came in response to Hamas’ attack on Israel in October 2023. But with Iran, Israel described its attack as “preemptive” to allegedly stop it from developing a nuclear weapon, which Iran has denied. The International Atomic Energy Agency, the UN’s nuclear watchdog, said it’s ready to “respond to any nuclear or radiological emergency within an hour.”
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“The Israeli public has become convinced over the years that it can exist here in the region while deeply disdaining all its neighbors and rampaging in a thuggish and murderous manner against everyone whenever and however it wants, relying solely on brute force. After all, we have the strongest army in the Middle East, who can defeat us?” Orly Noy, activist and board chair of Israeli human rights group B’Tselem, wrote on Saturday in the Israeli publication Local Conversation.
“For almost 80 years, the promised complete victory is just a step away: We just need to crush the Palestinians, we just need to eliminate Hamas, we just need to crush Lebanon, we just need to destroy Iran’s nuclear capabilities,” she continued. “And then you’ll see what a paradise it will be here.”