In an address to the United Nations on Tuesday, Palestinian Ambassador Riyad Mansour broke down in tears as he condemned Israel’s relentless military onslaught on Gaza, recounting agonizing stories of Palestinian children killed, injured, and starved in the ongoing war, reported the Mint.
With a trembling voice, Mansour began with a plea filled with urgency and grief: “We stop this ground before she (was) killed too,” referring to a devastating Israeli attack that wiped out nearly an entire family.
He recounted the story of a Gazan doctor, Dr. Al Najar, who was fulfilling her duties trying to save lives when her own children were brought into the hospital—burnt and lifeless. “She lost 9 of her 10 children. A horror and trauma the mind cannot comprehend. The heart cannot withstand,” he said.
Mansour highlighted the growing toll since the breakdown of the March ceasefire: “Over 1,300 Palestinian children killed and around 4,000 injured. These are children… and still war against barbarism, children…”
He shed light on the growing hunger crisis in Gaza, saying, “Dozens of children are dying of starvation,” as he painted a haunting picture of mothers cradling their lifeless children, “caressing their hair, talking to them, apologizing to them.”
Speaking from personal anguish, Mansour said, “I have grandchildren. I know what they mean to their families. How could anyone tolerate this sorrow?” Slamming the podium, he added, “The world’s inaction is beyond what any normal human being can endure.”
“Flames and hunger are devouring Palestinian children,” he cried, expressing the collective pain and fury of “Palestinians everywhere, the 14 million of us.”
He reaffirmed the resilience of his people: “We love our children. We love our people. We don’t want to see them going through this tragedy and these savage attacks. I can assure you, we are rooted in Palestine more than the olive trees, the Roman ones rooted in Palestine. We will never go away. We will not wither away. We are staying in our homeland.”
Mansour concluded with a final appeal to the Security Council: “Do something. Stop this crime from continuing against the Palestinian people—this genocide.”
