00:00Excellencies, Colleagues, Panama would like to thank Mr. Miroslav Yencha, Assistant Secretary General for Europe, Central Asia and Americas, for his briefing.
00:14We reiterate our support for the work carried out by United Nations agencies within their serious limitations in an extremely challenging environment in Gaza.
00:28We welcome the presence of His Excellency, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Israel, as well as the representative of the Observer State of Palestine and the representative of Argentina, who honor us today with their participation.
00:45Panama extends special recognition to Mr. Eli David, the brother of Evieta David, one of the hostages still held in captivity, who also honors us today with his presence.
01:03We value his bravery in raising his voice on behalf of his family and on behalf of so many others who continue to live in the anguish of waiting for their loved ones.
01:18To you and to all of the families of the hostages, Panama conveys its solidarity and respect.
01:25Panama has repeatedly expressed its deep concern over the catastrophic situation faced by the entire suffering population currently in the Gaza Strip.
01:43The sad reality endured by the hostages since the inhumane attacks on the 7th of October, of which it is estimated that at least 50 individuals remain in captivity and around 20 of whom are believed to be alive, continues after 669 days still in the hands of Hamas.
02:10This constitutes an extreme manifestation of deliberate cruelty, which we have strongly condemned in this chamber and which we today condemn once again.
02:23The actions of Hamas towards the hostages, including the deprivation of food, prolonged isolation.
02:35The sadistic use of these as instruments of pressure and propaganda and even the forced dissemination of videos amount to a calculated attempt to break their will and to intimidate.
02:49They represent a violation of international humanitarian law.
02:54The recent harrowing images of Rom Braslavsky and Evita David are not merely reflections of individual tragedy.
03:06They are irrefutable evidence of the degrading, cruel and intolerable treatment to which Hamas has subjected all hostages for nearly two years, evoking painful memories of a history that should never have been repeated.
03:25Panama once again demands the immediate, dignified and unconditional release of all hostages.
03:33The suffering of the kidnapped hostages coexists with the daily tragedy of the Palestinian civilian population in Gaza.
03:44All individuals in the Strip are bearing the consequences of Hamas's extremist and deliberately cruel actions, having chosen to inflict pain rather than seek solutions.
03:58Gaza's future should be free from Hamas and its extremist actions.
04:02For instance, millions of Palestinian civilians, mainly women, children and the elderly, are facing acute food insecurity, thirst, disease and forced displacement.
04:21Panama is not indifferent to this prolonged suffering, which represents a lamentable manifestation of dehumanization.
04:30We recognise the fortitude with which so many people have endured amidst destruction and despair,
04:41clinging to the remnants of humanity in an environment that no human being should have to endure.
04:48In the face of an unprecedented man-made humanitarian tragedy, alleviating the suffering of the civilian population in Gaza has become an urgent moral duty that calls upon us all equally.
05:07We urge that vital resources should reach those who need them most.
05:13Therefore, Panama insists that every humanitarian effort must be made to complement and strengthen existing humanitarian mechanisms.
05:25The United Nations agencies operating on the ground, alongside other humanitarian partners, represent an essential resource in the international response.
05:35The days during which the truce, albeit fragile, was in effect, demonstrated that it is possible to make progress both in terms of humanitarian assistance and in the return of those who were deprived of their liberty.
05:54That brief respite reminded us that there is still some room for humanity.
06:01In this regard, Panama reiterates its urgent call for the re-establishment of an immediate ceasefire in Gaza,
06:11so as to halt the human suffering faced by all, to facilitate the sustained, unrestricted and adequate entry of vital humanitarian aid,
06:24and to ensure the immediate, dignified and unconditional release of all hostages still held by Hamas,
06:33whose acts of cruelty and drama, whose acts of cruelty and drama have escalated with the treatment inflicted upon hostages Braslovsky and David.
06:42It's time to give restraint a chance, to allow for dialogue, and to uphold human dignity as a fundamental principle of coexistence upon which peace is built.
06:56Thank you very much.
06:56I resume my functions as President of the Council.
07:03Thank you very much.
07:04Thank you very much.
