During a Security Council session, UN Deputy Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, Ramiz Alakbarov, warned of another lethal escalation of the conflict and criticized Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s decision to give the green light to military plans for the direct invasion of Gaza City.

It is a population that is already struggling to survive and is now seeing its worst fears come true, he said.

He further noted that more than 86 percent of the Strip is already inside Israeli military zones and warned that the expansion of operations will have catastrophic consequences, including the displacement of hundreds of thousands of people.

He denounced the continuation of the Israeli onslaught, which has left more than 2,500 people dead since July 23 to date, among them several journalists.

The territory envisaged for a future Palestinian state is shrinking and the reality of illegal occupation and perpetual violence is advancing rapidly. With Gaza mired in a situation so horrendous that it defies basic humanity and with the West Bank facing real threats to its long-term existence, we can wait no longer, he said.

jdt/jav/mem/gas