Johnathan Paoli
US President Joe Biden has added his voice to the growing calls condemning Israel for its invasion of Gaza, and has warned the state of Israel that it could risk losing support if it continued with the indiscriminate bombing.
Biden’s comments came before the UN General Assembly overwhelmingly backed a non-binding resolution on Tuesday demanding an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza, a call that has so far paralysed the Security Council.
The body, which includes all 193 UN member nations, voted 153 in favour of the resolution, exceeding the 140 or so countries that have routinely backed resolutions condemning Russia for its invasion of Ukraine.
Ten countries, including the United States and Israel, voted against, while 23 abstained.
The visiting chief of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, Philippe Lazzarini, likened Gaza to “hell on earth” and said of video footage of an UNRWA school being blown up: “It is outrageous.”
In addition, Biden said that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu must also “change” his stance on a two-state solution for the Palestinians.
Netanyahu previously said that there was a disagreement with Biden over how a post-conflict Gaza would be governed, reflecting a rare rift after weeks in which the US leader has strongly backed Israel.
The United Nations said its satellite analysis agency UNOSAT had determined, based on a November 26 image, that 18% of Gaza’s infrastructure had been destroyed and feared that the territory would soon be overwhelmed by starvation and disease.
UN human rights chief Volker Turk warned the humanitarian situation there was “beyond breakdown” and said that the world body estimated 1.9 million of Gaza’s 2.4 million people have been displaced by the conflict, half of them children.
Army spokesman Daniel Hagari said that the military has lost 105 soldiers in the offensive and that 135 hostages remained in Gaza.
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