UN Envoy Says Gaza Ceasefire Depends on Full Israeli Withdrawal

(MENAFN) Palestine’s UN envoy Riyad Mansour on Wednesday emphasized that the long-term success of the Gaza ceasefire hinges on Israel fully withdrawing from the territory and ending efforts to dictate Gaza’s future, insisting that Palestinian suffering must be addressed with the same urgency as others’.

Welcoming the October 2025 ceasefire, Mansour told the UN Security Council: “We support the plan because it offered an immediate path toward ending the killing and suffering, the famine, and the unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe inflicted on the Palestinian people in Gaza.”

He added: “While we recognize that thousands of lives have been saved by the ceasefire, these goals are yet to be fully achieved,” and welcomed the completion of the release of all Israeli hostages and prisoners, both alive and deceased.

Mansour questioned the lack of accountability for Palestinian victims, asking: “What about the countless Palestinian families whose loved ones have been killed, with thousands of bodies still crushed and buried under rubble yet to be found, yet to be identified and to be given dignified burial?”

He continued: “What of the families who waited for the return of thousands denied, tortured, humiliated, starved, raped, or missing?” stressing that “the suffering of the Palestinian people, civilian men, women, and children must be ended with equal urgency.”

Condemning Israeli actions against humanitarian organizations, Mansour said Israel must halt what he called a “war against humanitarian actors,” including the UN Palestine refugee agency (UNRWA) and NGOs operating in the territory.

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