Maldives urges the UN to take resolute action against the mass atrocities being committed in the Palestinian enclave of Gaza by Israeli forces.

Permanent Representative of the Maldives to the United Nations Thilmeeza Hussain delivered the Maldives statement at the Tenth Emergency Special Session of the United Nations General Assembly being held to address the issue of the Illegal Israeli actions in occupied East Jerusalem and the Occupied Palestinian Territory.

In her statement, Permanent Representative Thilmeeza stressed that the violence we are witnessing in Gaza today is not a conflict that started earlier this month, but a continuation of decades of oppression of Palestinian people that have shattered multiple lives and suffocated hopes of innocent people, over several generations.

Permanent Rep from the Maldives to the UN addressing UNGA/Photo: Foreign Ministry

Highlighting the unbelievable human suffering in Gaza and the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Permanent Representative Thilmeeza, underscored that half of the two million residents in Gaza are children, and a third of them have not yet reached the age of ten.

Accepting the loss of these young lives as mere "collateral damage" is a severe breach of universally accepted ethical principles and international law, and it diminishes the moral integrity of any society that chooses to tolerate it
Thilmeeza Hussain, Permanent Representative of the Maldives to the UN

Speaking further, Permanent Representative Thilmeeza also stated that the Government of Maldives unequivocally condemns the attacks on medical facilities, and residential areas such as the Jabalia refugee camp, as well as attacks on places of worship and humanitarian workers.

Before concluding, Permanent Representative Thilmeeza called on the United Nations General Assembly to act with courage amidst transcending politics, for a world rooted in peace and justice, and urged the Security Council to take resolute action to end mass forced displacement in Gaza and halt the violence against innocent civilians.

The Maldives is among the co-sponsors of the recently adopted resolution of the United Nations General Assembly calling for an immediate ceasefire and pleading for unobstructed delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza.

The number of people killed in Israeli attacks on Gaza has gone up to 8,796, including 3,648 children and 2,290 women.