Aid agencies welcome UN ceasefire vote but appeal for immediate action

Photo by Mohammed Ibrahim on Unsplash

Aid agencies have welcomed news of the UN Security Council call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, for the month of Ramadan. Until now, the council had failed to reach full agreement but this week, while the US abstained from the vote, the remainder of the members voted in favour of the resolution, which also demands the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages.

CAFOD's Country Programmes Representative Middle East, Elizabeth Funnell said: "CAFOD has been calling for a ceasefire for many months and we welcome the UN Security Council Resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire and the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages. We are finally a step closer to the creating the conditions needed to prevent further loss of life, to ensure the release of all remaining hostages and to address the catastrophic levels of hunger now faced by families in Gaza.

"Today's news is testament to the efforts of people all across the world who have come together in prayer and in protest, to raise their voices and demand governments take action. It will be vital going forward that this pressure is maintained, so the UK government is in no doubt as to how much its citizens desperately want to see this life-saving ceasefire become a reality, before yet more children are killed by bombing or starved to death. The UK Government must now therefore exert every effort to ensure that this resolution is implemented.

"In line with the International Court of Justice's Provisional measures issued on 26 January 2024, the UK Government must work to address the catastrophic lack of humanitarian assistance reaching the people of Gaza which has already led to the death of 31 people including at least 27 children from starvation and malnutrition. This includes ensuring adequate funding to UNRWA, the primary UN Agency providing assistance to Palestinians, and which plays an essential role in Gaza. Just today, UNRWA calls on Israel to lift restrictions on access to northern Gaza where one in three children below the age of two is now acutely malnourished.

"Our partner in Gaza, sheltering near the Holy Family Church in Gaza City told me: 'The struggle to secure our daily bread is exhausting... Life is shattered here. For the first time in our history, we are making the communion bread in Gaza with our own hands.'

"Despite the dire situation, our partners in Gaza continue to work to deliver essentials such as food, water, tents, bedding and are providing specialised support for trauma as well as activities for children to distract them from the constant bombardments.

"At the start of Holy Week for Christians and during the Holy Month of Ramadan, CAFOD continues to call for a full and permanent ceasefire in Gaza now. An immediate, unconditional, and lasting ceasefire is essential to halt the death and destruction. It is also the only way to secure the release of hostages.

"Then, the arduous task of building lasting peace and justice for Israelis and Palestinians can commence. As Pope Francis reminds us, peace cannot be achieved through arms alone, and Israelis and Palestinians deserve lasting peace."

Christian Aid's Head of UK Advocacy and Campaigns, Jennifer Larbie welcomed news of the vote, saying: "This is certainly to be welcomed, but we sincerely hope that it lasts longer than the two weeks left of Ramadan. It must be permanent. And it's vital now that this must be backed by action.

"It should not have taken this long to recognise the essential need for the violence to stop, but what matters now is to get border crossings open and get more aid to those people who so desperately need it.

"Once again, we are urging the UK Government to back these calls for a ceasefire, insist on compliance with international humanitarian law and stop selling arms to the Israeli government.

"International leaders must work together to create a permanent, lasting peace for the sake of the millions of innocent people trapped in this nightmare."

Trócaire's CEO Caoimhe de Barra said: "This is welcome news and is long overdue but a ceasefire must be implemented and hostages released without delay. Access to aid must be massively ramped up, including in Northern Gaza, where it has been blocked by Israel. The people of Gaza have been suffering on a scale the world simply hasn't seen this century and Israel's blockage of UNRWA Aid in Northern Gaza is in essence a death sentence for families that have no other way to survive."

"The United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, said on Sunday that Israel had definitively barred it from making aid deliveries in northern Gaza, where the threat of famine is highest. Babies are already dying of malnutrition and dehydration and Israel's decision to block UNRWA aid entering Northern Gaza will only serve to make this death toll higher. We categorically condemn this decision -it must be reversed and vital aid allowed through immediately."

"Just last week the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), made up of UN agencies, NGO's and other experts, warned that famine is imminent as 1.1 million people, half of the population of Gaza, experience catastrophic food insecurity. Famine is projected to arrive in the north anytime between now and May. The latest report said that the 'continued conflict and near-complete lack of access for humanitarian organisations will likely compound heightened vulnerabilities and extremely limited food availability as well as access to healthcare, water and sanitation."

"The end of hostilities is only the beginning, we need to rebuild Gaza, rebuild people's lives, and deal with the trauma and devastation. We need to seek justice and accountability for war crimes, whoever has committed these, and potential acts of genocide. We need to address the root causes of these devastating cycles of violence that destroy so many lives . To do so effectively, we need serious political leadership and we need to apply the maximum amount of pressure we can on Israel and also on the US."

"There has to be an end to the brutal dispossession, dehumanisation and impoverishment of all Palestinians, if the cycle of war is to be broken. Ireland needs to step up under its future new Taoiseach to call for justice and accountability, for the sake of peace."