UNITED NATIONS, August 18 (RIA Novosti) – Hours before the current Gaza ceasefire is scheduled to expire, UN envoy Robert Serry on Monday told the Security Council that the way forward “must consist of ending the blockage on Gaza and addressing Israel's legitimate security concerns.”
Serry, who is the UN's Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, told the Security Council, “I recently traveled to Cairo in support of these important talks, and the Secretary General has continued to engage with the parties and stakeholders to end the violence and reach a durable ceasefire.”
Even before a wider deal, Serry said “by the deadline later today - midnight Cairo time, or 5 pm New York time - we urge the parties to reach an understanding. At the very least, we hope that the ceasefire will be extended and the situation remains quiet.”
“A total of almost 2000 Palestinians have been killed, of whom 459 are children and 239 are women. This total includes more than two thirds civilians,” Serry said.
Turning to attacks on UN Relief and Works Agency premises, Serry said that “on three occasions, there was a direct hit on UNRWA schools that were being used at the time, with the full knowledge of the parties to the hostilities, as shelters for Gazans who had felt their homes to seek safety from the fighting.”
Serry said “a total of 38 people were killed in those three incidents, and 317 were injured. Eleven UNRWA colleagues were killed in the line of duty.”
On this, Serry concluded that “the Secretary General has called for a thorough investigation into these incidents to assure full accountability.”
