Somalia urges Gaza ceasefire in first UNSC briefing

In its first historic session as a Non-Permanent UN Security Council (UNSC) member meeting on Friday, Somalia called upon Israel to end the Gaza war and respect humanitarian laws by allowing aid to reach millions of suffering civilians ahead of the cold winter weather.

The call was made by the Somali Ambassador to the UN Abukar Dahir Osman "Baale" in his first briefing to the UNSC.

Abukar was speaking during the UNSC meeting on Gaza and the Middle East including Palestine, where council members received a briefing on the situation in Gaza's war from the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk.

Somalia's permanent representative to the UN said his country is concerned about the deteriorating living conditions of Palestinian civilians who have endured war and starvation imposed on them by Israel.

He urged Israeli authorities to stop attacks on hospitals and do more to ensure life-saving aid reaches starved civilians in occupied Palestine.

"Somalia is deeply concerned about the deteriorating situation in Gaza and the ongoing suffering of the Palestinian people due to the prolonged conflict which has now persisted for over 14 months," Abukar said in his brief.

Somalia reminded Israel that as the occupying force, it has a moral obligation to ensure the safety and well-being of the occupied Palestinian people who have endured the worst punishment in this conflict.

Shocking statistics

It said the latest World Health Organisation (WHO) statistics from Palestine were shocking and that 94 per cent of health facilities in Gaza have been damaged or destroyed by Israel, leaving only 17 out of 36 hospitals operational.

Somalia said Palestinians lack basic necessities like food, water, shelter and medicines due to an Israeli aid blockade on Gaza.

It said one of the latest hospitals and the biggest one to have been targeted include Kamal Atwan hospital whose director, Dr Hossam Abu Safiya, was detained by Israel Defence Forces (IDF).

Somalia warned the systemic attacks on hospitals amount to ethnic cleansing of Palestinians.

"The deliberate attacks against Kamal Atwan hospital and numerous other health facilities and personnel are a form of ethnic cleansing and collective punishment against civilian populations in Gaza," Abukar said, adding that the death toll in Palestine as a result of the war in Gaza is immeasurable.

Somalia called for an immediate cessation of hostilities and an end to the war in Gaza, saying the Israeli-Palestinian problem cannot be resolved through military means alone, but it can only end with a Palestinian State with Jerusalem as its capital as envisaged in previous UNSC resolutions.

"An immediate and an unconditional ceasefire is the first step and is indispensable for creating a condition conducive to meaningful political discourse and prerequisite for any meaningful progress towards sustainable and lasting peace between Israel and Palestine," the Somali envoy added.

The current conflict started on October 7, 2023 after Hamas – the Palestinian group in control of the Gaza Strip – attacked southern Israel. In that first attack, about 1,200 people from various nationalities including Israeli citizens were killed and 250 others taken hostage by Hamas.

Israel then launched a military campaign to release the hostages and destroy Hamas.

Since then, about 46,000 people have been killed in Gaza, according to Palestinian health officials. Many of the slain people are civilians including unarmed Palestinian women and children.

Somalia promised to use its voice in the UNSC to speak against oppression, and human rights violations and to speak for the weak during its UNSC term.

President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud told the nation that his government will fully represent the interests of the African Union, Arab League and Organisation of Islamic Countries in the UNSC.

Somalia is a member of these organisations and this is the second time the country is holding that UNSC position since its last tenure decades ago, between 1971 and 1972.