Courtesy: American Friends Service Committee
THE Philippine government said Saturday it would continue to support international efforts to end the “alarming deaths and suffering” in Gaza and Israel.
The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) indicated that it backed calls for a halt to the ongoing Israel-Hamas hostilities despite its decision to abstain from voting on a United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) resolution due to the lack of mention of the Oct. 7 Hamas attack, according to published reports on Philippine News Agency.
“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 DFA said in a statement.
Voting 120 against 14 with 45 abstentions, the non-binding Jordanian-led UNGA resolution calling for an “immediate, durable, and sustained humanitarian truce leading to a cessation of hostilities” was adopted Friday afternoon (New York time).
The resolution marked the first formal response of the UN to the escalation of violence in Israel and Gaza after the UN Security Council failed to reach a consensus on any action.
The DFA said the Philippines had voted in favor of the amendment proposed by Canada that sought to achieve more balance in the draft and include the factual mention of the Oct. 7 “terrorist attacks.”
“This was supported by 88 states, but fell short of eight more votes that would have seen this critical element reflected in an important UN resolution,” it said.
