28/01/2026 Social Affairs, Health and Sustainable Development
Saskia Kluit (Netherlands, SOC), following up on her report “The absolute and urgent need to end the humanitarian crisis for women, children and the hostages in Gaza”, made the following statement today:
“Just one year after the adoption of the Assembly resolution based on my report, Palestinians in Gaza continue to die violently almost every day, despite the ceasefire and a peace plan. We cannot look away.
The inhumane violence against innocent people in Gaza defies imagination. International humanitarian law was established after the second world war to limit suffering caused by armed conflict. Yet we witness a long succession of cruel acts that undoubtedly breach the core rules of the Geneva Conventions.
We have seen the killing of tens of thousands of civilians. We have seen children die of hunger, illness, and cold, while humanitarian assistance was only a few kilometres away. We have seen an unprecedented killing of journalists. We have seen the murdering and imprisonment of many humanitarian workers. We have seen humanitarian organisations attacked, including those from the United Nations. We have seen people taken hostage and not returned.
Women and children bear the heaviest burden of this humanitarian crisis. Their suffering is the result of actions of the state of Israel and by prolonged ineffective action by the international community.
We must continue to fight to protect innocent lives in Gaza and demand accountability for the perpetrators of war crimes. This duty stems from our shared humanity and legal responsibility, obliging us to stop these atrocities and demand Israel’s immediate compliance with international law.
I take hope from all people who refuse to remain silent: the people marching in our streets, those who participate in the Flotillas, those engaged in hunger strikes, those who went to court, and those, like Kaouther Ben Hania, who use cultural means to tell the story of Gaza.
Let us take courage from their moral appeal and turn their words into effective action, their outrage into justice, and by that ensure that the suffering of Gazan people is stopped.”