The UN General Assembly overwhelmingly calls for an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip

“Hunger, Despair, Death”

Israel says UNRWA staff took part in the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, which sparked the war in Gaza. According to the United Nations, nine UNRWA staff may have been involved and were fired. A Hamas commander killed by Israel was also found to have had a UNRWA job in Lebanon.

“By voting for these resolutions, you are not voting to protect humanitarian values, but to protect an organization that has become a haven for terror,” Danon told the assembly Wednesday before the vote.

UNRWA was established in 1949 by the General Assembly following the war surrounding the creation of Israel. The United Nations has repeatedly said there is no alternative to UNRWA, which provides aid, health and education to millions of Palestinians in Gaza, the West Bank, Syria, Lebanon and Jordan.

“Gaza no longer exists. It’s destroyed. Palestinians face hunger, despair and death,” Slovenian UN Ambassador Samuel Zbogar told the gathering. “There is no reason to continue this war. We need a ceasefire now. We need to bring hostages home now.”

The war in the Palestinian enclave began after Hamas gunmen stormed Israeli communities on October 7, 2023, killing about 1,200 people and taking about 250 hostages back to the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip, according to Israeli figures.

Since then, the Israeli military has leveled large parts of the Gaza Strip and forced almost all of its 2.3 million people from their homes. This has led to deadly starvation and disease and killed more than 44,800 people, according to Palestinian health authorities, which do not distinguish between combatants and non-combatants.