‘Madness’: Palestinian President Abbas urges UN to stop the war in Gaza

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas urged the UN General Assembly on Thursday to stop the war in Gaza between Israel and Palestinian Hamas militants, saying Israel had almost entirely destroyed Gaza and it was no longer fit for life.

“This madness cannot continue. The entire world is responsible for what is happening to our people,” Abbas told the 193-member General Assembly.

The war began on October 7, 2023, when Hamas gunmen stormed Israeli communities, killing around 1,200 people and taking about 250 hostages back to Gaza, according to Israeli tallies.

Since then, Israel’s military has levelled swathes of the besieged Palestinian enclave, driving nearly all of its 2.3 million people from their homes, giving rise to deadly hunger and disease and killing more than 41,000 people, according to Palestinian health authorities.

The United States, Qatar and Egypt have been trying unsuccessfully to broker a ceasefire and the release of hostages held by Hamas.