James Kariuki’s statement to the Security Council on Gaza

Thank you, President. I’d also want to express my gratitude to the UAE delegation and everyone who helped organise this crucial Council meeting.

The truce in Gaza established last night is welcomed by the United Kingdom and other members of the Security Council.

We applaud Egypt, Qatar, and Tor Wennesland’s UN Special Coordinator office for their efforts in mediating this situation.

We now call on all sides to exert every effort to make sure the truce lasts and prevents the conflict from escalating.

We have recently seen horrible events in Israel and the Palestinian Territories under occupation.

We vehemently condemn the Palestinian Islamic Jihad’s nearly 1,100 rocket assaults on civilians as well as its continued campaign of terror attacks, which have killed both Israeli and Palestinian citizens in the process.

The UK supports Israel and its right to defend itself against such terrorism and bloodshed, as my Foreign Secretary has made clear.

The families of the innocent Palestinian citizens slain over the last three days, notably the heartbreaking loss of children, are sent their sincere condolences by the United Kingdom.

The UK is in favour of an expeditious and in-depth examination of each of these reports. Too many lives have been lost as a result of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the cycle of bloodshed.

We continue to be very worried about the humanitarian situation in Gaza, including restrictions on travel and access, damage to civil infrastructure, and shortages of essential supplies like fuel for power plants that give energy to hospitals and other facilities.

We applaud Israel for stating that it would let humanitarian supplies to reach Gaza.

We anticipate that the ceasefire agreement will now enable for the quick resumption of traffic and access for persons and commodities through the Erez and Kerem Shalom crossings, which is necessary for immediate access for humanitarian supplies.

This escalation serves as yet another reminder of the need of moving forward with a two-state solution that guarantees Jerusalem as the capital of both nations and a safe and secure Israel coexisting with a Palestinian state based on the borders of 1967.