French UN Envoy: "This is war, not a natural disaster. It should stop."

"The UN Security Council should take up the responsibility to end the war in the Gaza Strip", France’s envoy to the UN said Monday.

"This is not a natural disaster we are talking about. This is a war, and it should stop now. The Security Council cannot continue to procrastinate. We should take action right now," Nicolas de Riviere told reporters in New York.

De Riviere said there is an urgency to reach an immediate cease-fire during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, secure the release of hostages and obtain full humanitarian access to the Gaza Strip.

"So this is what the Security Council should do now, not next week. I'm talking about the next 24, 48 hours. There is no reason to procrastinate further. No reason," De Riviere added.

The ambassador also said the Council has only been able to adopt two humanitarian resolutions, "which, by the way, are not implemented."

"This Council needs to do more, to do it now, and take up its responsibility. It cannot wait any longer," he added.

The Israeli war has pushed 85 percent of Gaza’s population into internal displacement amid a crippling blockade of most food, clean water and medicine, while 60 percent of the enclave's infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice. An interim ruling in January ordered Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.