UN General Assembly demands immediate Gaza ceasefire - BBC News
BBC News- 655 views
- 13 Dec 2023
The UN General Assembly has voted in favour of a non-binding resolution demanding "an immediate humanitarian ceasefire” in ...
Now, in New York, the United Nations General Assembly has voted overwhelmingly for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza. The Palestinian convoy to the UN called the vote an historic moment. Israel said a ceasefire would only benefit Hamas to the detriment of Garzans. Though it's nonbinding, analysts say it acts as a powerful measure of international opinion. Twenty-three countries, including the UK, abstained, Israel and the United States are two of just 10 countries that voted against the ceasefire. President Biden earlier said Israel was losing international support because of what he called its indiscriminate bombing of Qatar. Let's go live to Jerusalem now and speak to our correspondent, Yoland, Nell. Good morning, Yoland. Has there been any reaction there to this so far this morning?
I mean, things already looked very much like they were going in this direction. So we had a lot of strong reaction in advance from Israel's ambassador to the UN from Israeli officials, really insisting that the world cannot tell Israel, close allies cannot tell Israel to go after Hamas to dismantle it in gas on the one hand, and on the other hand, call for a ceasefire. This has been the consistent message from Israel in recent days, but it will be very aware that this is intense diplomatic pressure now and also worrying for Israeli leaders to see some of the differing opinions that are coming from the US, its closest ally as well. Of course, from the very beginning, the US President, Joe Biden, he arrived here soon after those awful seventh of October attacks to show solidarity with Israel. At the UN Security Council, it was Washington that vetoed any attempt to get such a ceasefire resolution through just last Friday, Today, but these remarks made on the campaign trail by President Biden saying that, really, Israel was starting to lose international support because of what he called indiscriminate bombing, that use of language was very strong.
There's also been admission from the Israeli Prime Minister. There have been differences of opinion. We've also had Mr. Biden coming out saying that Benjamin Netanyahu must change his hardline government, and he must ultimately accept, Israel must ultimately accept that it cannot say no, he said, to an independent Palestinian state. That is something that hardliners in Israel's government vehemently oppose.
Okay, thank you so much, Yoland, Nell, in Jerusalem for us. Well, let's now talk to Jason Lee, who is Country Director at Save the Children in occupied Palestinian territory. Jason, thank you for being on the program. We were just discussing the outcome of the United Nations' latest resolution there, as it were. But in terms of what you're seeing and experiencing on a day-to-day basis in Gaza, they will not see a difference, will they?
Unfortunately, no. The situation is bad and getting worse. It is dire. We have now 1.9 million people. That's 85 % of the population that are homeless, they're displaced, they have nowhere to sleep, no access to food, to water, to critical health care that they need. And also there are no sanitation facilities available, and half of them are children. The situation is getting worse every single day, every day that the world community does nothing, nothing, and sits and waits. The price is that children are paying the price. Again, this war is disproportionately affecting children.
The international pressure is increasing on the Israelis, but Prime Minister, Netanyahu, says he will continue with the military campaign. The thinking is they've got weeks, a window of weeks in order to achieve what they are trying to achieve. But, I mean, every day is such a long time, isn't it? For the people who are suffering there.
Children do not have weeks. There is no time. It rained again last night, which means that there's so much pressure on the camps that are set up here, the tents that there will be soon overflooded. There is no sanitation facility. The risk of a public health outbreak, cholera, we're already seeing jaundis-like symptoms appearing amongst the population, and especially with the cold weather, children are more susceptible to pneumonia. So children do not have the weeks.
Yeah, and we completely appreciate that. So talk us through what you're able to do at Save the Children. What aid are you able to get in? Who have you got on the ground?
Not enough. We are not able to get enough aid. We are restricted by the fact that the number of trucks coming in is not sufficient to keep the 2.3 million people alive. We do not have enough personnel, humanitarian personnel, to come in to actually reach those populations in need. And most of all, we do not have free movement throughout all of the Gulf Strip. There is not unfettered access for humanitarians to do our job. We need to get to all areas of Gaza, from the north to Kanunas to areas of the south. It is critical that we are allowed in. My own teams are displaced. And unfortunately, on Monday night, on Monday morning, sorry, I lost one of my team members, his four children, his wife, and 30 members of his extended family because of an airstrike.
Jason, I'm so sorry to hear that. That is so difficult to have to handle on a day to day basis. Our thoughts are with you at Save the Children. Thank you for being on the program. -thank you. -thank you.