UAE calls for immediate and unconditional ceasefire in Gaza

Emirati envoy also demands immediate release of all hostages and detainees

An injured woman is carried after an Israeli strike in Gaza City's Sabra neighbourhood. AFP

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The UAE on Tuesday urged all warring parties in Gaza to adhere to international humanitarian law and end systematic offences against civilians, amid intensifying violence and a worsening humanitarian crisis.

Addressing the UN General Assembly, UAE envoy Mohamed Abushahab called for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire and emphasised the urgent need for large-scale, sustainable humanitarian assistance.

“Statistics and percentages cannot explain the real impact of this war and its implications that can go on for decades, including the psychological impact on those who have lived this war,” Mr Abushahab told member states.

Humanitarian relief is trickling in but aid groups have repeatedly condemned the many constraints imposed on them by Israel, which the country denies.

In the latest blow, the UN agency supporting Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, announced on Sunday that it was halting aid deliveries to Gaza through a key crossing point with Israel. UNRWA said delivery had become impossible, partly due to looting by gangs.

Mr Abushahab reaffirmed the UAE's “constant solidarity” with the Palestinian people facing the “multidimensional implications of the continuing Israeli war against the Gaza Strip, and in light of the continuing escalation in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem".

Israeli air strikes have killed at least 200 Palestinians in the past 48 hours, health authorities in Gaza said on Tuesday, as fatal attacks continued on homes, schools and shelters full of civilians.

The UN says it will take decades to rebuild Gaza. Successive raids have forced almost all of its hospitals out of service, with medical staff detained by the Israeli army and wounded Palestinians left with few options for treatment.

Mr Abushahab also demanded the immediate release of all hostages and detainees, underscoring the UAE’s commitment to peace and the protection of civilians in the enclave.