UN Ambassadors call for ceasefire in Gaza, mourn Palestinian martyrs
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Around 40 ambassadors endorsed a collective plea urging immediate global intervention to cease the violence and tackle the severe humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
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Smoke and flares rise over Gaza City during an Israeli strike in the Gaza Strip, as seen from southern Israel, Friday Nov. 10, 2023 (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
Several ambassadors convened at the UN in Geneva on Friday, observing a minute of silence for the thousands of Palestinians who were martyred in the ongoing Israeli genocide in Gaza, urging for a cessation of the violence.
Around 40 ambassadors, predominantly from Muslim countries, endorsed a collective plea urging immediate global intervention to cease the violence and tackle the severe humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
"There is a need to instill humanity and wisdom and to awaken the conscience of humanity in front of these atrocities committed against innocent Palestinian civilians," Egyptian ambassador Ahmed Ihab Abdelahad Gamaleldin told the gathering.
"Two and a half million people cannot be considered incidental or collateral damage."
More than 11,000 people were martyred in the strip since the Israeli aggression on the Gaza strip began, with a total of 4,506 children included.
Read more: IOF tanks surround Rantisi and Al-Nasr hospitals in Gaza
Ibrahim Khraishi, the Palestinians' permanent observer to the UN in Geneva, asserted that the ongoing events were "not a war between Israel and the fighters of Hamas. It is a genocide". And "the genocide is taking place in full view of the whole world, on TV screens".
He criticized the striking "double standards" in the international reaction, drawing a parallel between the full denunciation of Russia's conflict in Ukraine by Western nations and the reluctance of many to condemn "Israel's" war crimes in Gaza.
"This is something that humanity should be ashamed of," he said.
He specifically condemned the US's "blind support" for "Israel", stating that it had empowered the regime "to behave as a state above the law".
"The real friend of Israel should raise the red flag in front of their face and tell them you have to stop," he said, warning that Israel's actions were "designing a new international world order".
"We should be careful where we are," he said. "This jungle law should stop."
At a Geneva meet with 40 ambassadors, issues in Gaza were underscored: ambulances being targeted, dire electricity shortages & surgeries performed without anesthesia. Speakers stressed that ending civilian targeting is a priority, beyond funding. Demands for enforced UN Res 242.
— Ricardo Lamour (@emrical) November 10, 2023
Read more: Escalation of Gaza aggression makes battle expansion inevitable: Iran
The UN General Assembly voted for a ceasefire on October 27 but "Israel" refused to comply on the basis that doing so would constitute a surrender to Hamas.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has stated that the war would not cease until all captives are released but several captives have been killed so far by Israeli airstrikes.
On the other hand, Hamas says it has attempted to negotiate a prisoner exchange deal but the regime has refused any engagement.
