Philippe Lazzarini says the international community is failing to uphold its commitments to safeguard human rights and protect the people of Gaza during Israel’s assault on the Strip and denial of food and humanitarian assistance.

“At the European humanitarian forum in Brussels today, I said that the world is again failing its commitment of ‘never again’ with the people of Gaza. We failed them under our watch, day after day,” he said in a social media post.

The phrase “never again” is often used in reference to the Holocaust, spoken as a commitment to never again allow humanity to repeat a similar mass slaughter.

“The war is making International Humanitarian Law, including the Geneva Conventions, almost irrelevant. That will have consequences far beyond Israel and Palestine. ‘Never Again’ cannot and must not be selectively applied. It has to remain our commitment to humanity.”