Israel's goal is to erase entire idea of Palestine, Pakistan warns at UN

Pakistan's top diplomat at the UN has warned that Israel's goal is to "erase the entire idea of Palestine."

Speaking at the UN General Assembly on Tuesday, Ambassador Munir Akram also expressed regret over "some friends of Israel" blaming only Hamas for the entire situation and not holding Israel to account.

"Israel’s goal is not only to erase Hamas. This is a war against the Palestinian people. Israel's goal is to erase not only a people but also the entire idea of Palestine," Akram said, according to a transcript released by the Pakistani mission.

"Its campaign is a carbon copy of the massive campaigns of racial slaughter by other settler-colonial regimes in history," he added.

Denial of freedom and dignity

On Tuesday, the UN General Assembly overwhelmingly adopted a draft resolution demanding an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza.

The non-binding resolution, presented by Egypt with the support of nearly 100 countries, including Türkiye, passed with 153 votes in favour as the 193-member General Assembly gathered for an emergency special session on Palestine.

Ten countries, including the US, Israel and Austria, voted against the resolution, while 23 countries including the UK, Germany, Italy and Ukraine abstained from voting.

"When you deny people freedom and dignity; when you humiliate and trap them in an open-air prison where you kill them as if they were beasts; they become very angry and they do to others what was done to them," said the Pakistani ambassador.

Israel has bombarded Gaza from the air and land, imposed a siege and mounted a ground offensive after a cross-border attack by Hamas on October 7.

At least 18,412 Palestinians have been killed and 50,100 injured in the Israeli onslaught since then, according to the health authorities in Gaza.

The Israeli death toll in the Hamas attack stands at 1,200, while around 139 hostages remain in captivity, according to official figures.