Palestinian UN envoy calls for pause to become ‘end’ to Israel-Hamas war

The Palestinian UN ambassador called Wednesday for a “definitive end” to Israel’s war with Hamas in Gaza, warning that a truce to release hostages “cannot be just a pause before the massacre starts all over again.”

“Hundreds of Palestinian children will not be killed thanks to this truce,” Mansour tells the UN Security Council. “We owe it to them and to all the civilians in the Gaza Strip to put a definitive end to this criminal assault on the Palestinian people.”

He thanked the nations of Qatar and Egypt for their roles in paving the way for the deal, and called on all those who contributed to “stopping this madness” to work to “to ensure a way forward that averts the resumption of this aggression.”

Hamas initiated a war on October 7 when thousands of terrorists crossed from Gaza into Israel by land, sea, and air, and killed over 1,200 people, a majority of them civilians, and took some 240 hostages.

Mansour says Palestinians “do not justify the killing of a single Israeli civilian,” adding: “No-one should condone atrocities based on the identity of the perpetrator.”

Israelis and Palestinians must not turn a blind eye to each other’s wounds and histories, but instead build respect on a “common vision of the future where all can live… not where one’s life is at the expense of another,” he says.

Israeli UN ambassador Gilad Erdan responded by saying that, as soon as the truce ends, “we will continue striving towards our goals with full force.”

“We will not stop until we eliminate all of Hamas’ terror capabilities and ensure that they can no longer rule Gaza and threaten both Israeli civilians and the women and children of Gaza,” says Erdan.

Most Popular