MANILA, November 1 ------ The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said the Philippines supports the United Nations (UN) in addressing the humanitarian crisis that erupted amid the fighting between Israel and Hamas militants. "We continue to support efforts of the UN, particularly the UN Security Council, the UN humanitarian system and the global community, to decisively address this crisis and put a stop to the alarming deaths and suffering in Gaza and Israel," the statement read.
The Philippines earlier abstained from a non-binding UN resolution calling for the "immediate humanitarian truce" in war-torn Gaza. The document urges the "immediate" provision of water, food, medical supplies, fuel and electricity and unhindered access for UN and other humanitarian agencies trying to help the Palestinians. The DFA, meanwhile, said it is among the growing voices in the international community calling for the "swift action to address the scale of human suffering that is affecting populations" in Israel and Palestine. Aside from this, the agency noted that Gulf leaders and ASEAN member-states, including the Philippines, took a stand against the violence in the Gaza strip during their first ever summit in Riyadh earlier this month.
The draft resolution, however, did not mention the Hamas terrorist attack in Israeli towns on Oct. 7, where some Filipinos were among those killed, it noted. "We supported the efforts of Canada to include a factual mention in the resolution of the attacks on 07 October. Canada’s proposal, which sought to achieve more balance in the draft, with a condemnation of the 7 October terrorist attacks by Hamas that killed many innocent civilians including Filipinos working and living in Israel," DFA said. "This was supported by 88 states, but fell short of 8 more votes that would have seen this critical element reflected in an important UN resolution," it said.
The Philippines is among 45 countries that abstained from the non-binding resolution at the UN General Assembly. A total of 120 members voted in favor, while 14 others voted against it. The representative of the Philippine Permanent Mission to the UN said that the country is concerned at the "massive destruction of health and medical facilities that further increases the unnecessary human suffering." The resolution, co-sponsored by Jordan and nearly 50 other countries, centered largely on the dire humanitarian situation in sealed-off Gaza as Israel presses on with its bombardment and prepares for an assault into the territory.
Israel has heavily bombarded Gaza since Hamas gunmen stormed across the border on October 7, killing 1,400 people, mostly civilians, and kidnapping over 220 others, according to Israeli officials. The health ministry in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip, in an update on Friday, said the Israeli strikes have killed 7,326 people, mainly civilians.
Source: news.abs-cbn.com
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