Johannesburg,South Africa

United States of America(USA) a big partner in crime of Israel has used its veto power again to block a ceasefire proposal for Gaza which was furnished by Algeria at the United Nations Security Council(UNSC) on Tuesday.

During the UNSC session,thirteen members of the Council supported the draft,while United Kingdom abstained and the US cast the sole veto against ceasefire for the third time since October 2023.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Egypt expressed its deep regret and rejection over the repeated failure of the United Nations Security Council(UNSC) to adopt a resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.

Egypt is very disappointed and heartbroken by the UNSC members who are misusing their veto power to allow Israeli government to continue with its starving and killing of innocent civilians in the Gaza Strip.

"Egypt considers the obstruction of a resolution demanding a ceasefire in an armed conflict that has claimed the lives of over 29,000 civilians,mostly children and women,a shameful precedent in the Security Council's history of handling of armed conflicts and wars," said Egypt Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Egypt pointed out that the international community is biased and selective also does not treat everyone equal as it suppose to be to end conflicts around the world.

The statement said Egypt strongly condemns the selectivity and double standards displayed by the international community in dealing with wars and armed conflicts in different regions.This casts doubt on the credibility of the current international system's rules and mechanisms.

Egypt is demanding an immediate ceasefire to prevent more unnecessary bloodshed among Palestinian civilians and emphasised that is committed to make sure that humanitarian aid continues to be delivered into the Gaza Strip.

Egypt is publicly oppose any measures that could lead to the displacement of Palestinians from their lands,and also rejects any Israeli military operations in the city of Rafah.

Palestinians sufferings are exacerbating in Gaza

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs(OCHA) has reported that the people of Gaza are experiencing malnutrition,diseases and endless bombardments in the hands of Israeli military.

OCHA said intense Israeli bombardment from air,land and sea continues to be reported across much of the Gaza Strip,resulting in further civilian casualties,displacement,and destruction of civilian infrastructure.Widespread ground operations and heavy fighting between Israeli forces and Palestinian armed groups also continued to be reported,especially in Gaza City,Khan Younis and Deir al Balah.

OCHA mentioned that between the afternoons of 19 and 20 February,according to the Ministry of Health(MoH) in Gaza,103 Palestinians were killed,and 142 Palestinians were injured.Between 7 October 2023 and noon on 20 February 2024,at least 29,195 Palestinians were killed in Gaza and 69,170 Palestinians were injured,according to MoH in Gaza.

OCHA also said the Global Nutrition Cluster is reporting a steep rise in malnutrition among children and pregnant and breastfeeding women in the Gaza Strip,as food and safe water become increasingly scarce and disease proliferates.The situation is especially serious in northern Gaza where 1 in 6 children under the age of 2(15.6 per cent) who were screened at shelters and health centers in January were found to be acutely malnourished.Of these,almost 3 per cent suffered from severe wasting,the most life-threatening form of malnutrition.This rate of 15.6 per cent of wasting among children under the age of two indicates a decline in a population's nutritional status that is unprecedented globally in the three months,according to the report.

OCHA also adds that prior to 7 October,just 0.8 per cent of children under 5 in Gaza were acutely malnourished.In Rafah in southern Gaza,where aid has been more available than in the north,5 per cent of children under the age of two are acutely malnourished,evidence that access to humanitarian aid can help prevent the worst outcomes.Accordingly,UNICEF,WFP and WHO are calling for safe,unimpeded and sustained access to urgently deliver multi-sectoral humanitarian assistance throughout the Gaza Strip.According to UNICEF,"the Gaza Strip is poised to witness an explosion in preventable child deaths which would compound the already unbearable level of child deaths in Gaza.We've been warning for weeks that the Gaza Strip is on the brink of a nutrition crisis.If the conflict doesn't end now,children's nutrition will continue to plummet,leading to preventable deaths or health issues which will affect the children of Gaza for the rest of their lives and have potential inter-generational consequences.