By Merve Aydogan
HAMILTON, Canada (AA) – Palestine’s Ambassador to the UN, Riyad Mansour, called Wednesday for immediate global action to end Israel’s genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.
"As I stand here to address this august assembly, ethnic cleansing is being carried out in broad daylight in Beit Lahia and all of northern Gaza," Mansour said during a UN General Assembly session.
He recalled Israel's latest airstrikes that killed at least 20 Palestinians and injured dozens of displaced people in the Al-Mawasi area of Khan Younis.
"Every hour, every day, more Palestinian children, women and men fall victim to this depraved Israeli onslaught. Lives lost, families devastated and an entire people brutalized, terrorized and traumatized, with no end in sight," he said.
Mansour described Israel's atrocities as "the gravest of crimes," equating the savagery to atrocities not seen since World War II.
Calling for accountability, he said "the perpetrators are known. Their whereabouts are known. Their crimes are live-streamed. They openly declare their intent: to kill and maim, to destroy, to starve, to ethnically cleanse. This impunity must be brought to an end."
He urged the international community to support the International Criminal Court’s arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and called for immediate action.
"We call on all States to use any and all leverage they have to put an end to the massacres. This genocide must be stopped by any means available.
"Gaza today is the bleeding heart of Palestine and an open, painful wound for the human family," Mansour added, urging nations to "extinguish the fire devouring our children.”