NEW YORK, Thursday, November 2, 2023 (WAFA) — The Permanent Representative of the State of Palestine to the United Nations, Ambassador Riyad Mansour, has once again called on the international community to take urgent action for an immediate ceasefire and an unimpeded delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza.
In three identical letters sent to the UN Secretary-General, the President of the UN Security Council for this month (China), and the President of the UN General Assembly, Ambassador Mansour stressed the necessity of compelling the occupying force, Israel, to abide by its international legal obligations. This includes an immediate cessation of its retaliatory actions and collective punishments, as well as permitting humanitarian aid to all the civilians in need in Gaza.
In this context, Mansour drew attention to Israel's systematic targeting of refugee camps throughout the besieged Gaza Strip, resulting in the deaths and injuries of hundreds of Palestinian civilians and extensive destruction.
The recent and repeated shelling of the Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza over the past two days, said Mansour, led to the death of at least 195 men, women, and children and the injury of hundreds more, many of whom sustained severe burns and serious injuries.
"In addition, at least 120 Palestinians remain missing, buried under the massive rubble and destruction caused by Israeli attacks on the camp. All refugee camps in Gaza have been subjected to Israeli assaults, with none escaping the Israeli military's attacks," said Mansour in his letters.
Ambassador Mansour emphasized that Israel's deliberate and systematic deadly attacks against Palestinian civilian population amount to grave war crimes and that Israel must be held accountable. He reiterated that the international community cannot back down from demanding an end to all the brutal acts committed by Israel in Gaza and the rest of the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem.
He also emphasized the ongoing calls for the protection of Palestinian civilians in accordance with international humanitarian law.
Mansour affirmed that the absence of this protection has led to the deaths of at least 9,000 Palestinian civilians to date, the majority of whom are children and women, with more than 23,000 Palestinians injured.
Notably, this figure does not include the more than 2,000 individuals, including over 1,000 children, who remain missing and buried under the rubble of destroyed buildings. He further highlighted that the death toll of Palestinian children in Gaza has reached 3,760.
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