The European Parliament is calling for an “immediate” and unconditional ceasefire in Gaza for the first time since the conflict between Israel and Hamas began, deeming UNRWA’s role “irreplaceable.” The motion and reference to UNRWA were adopted yesterday, against the background of Israel's allegations against the UN agency, in amendments adopted by a narrow majority in a resolution on the state of human rights in the world, which received a total of 377 yes votes. 90 votes against and 68 abstentions. The Left Group's amendment calls for “an immediate and permanent ceasefire in the Gaza Strip so that the entire population can have uninterrupted access to food and water.” It is the first time that the European Parliament has specifically called for an unconditional ceasefire, having called for a humanitarian pause in its first resolution on the crisis last October, and in January calling for a ceasefire conditional on the release of hostages, and so on
Dismantling Hamas. “Today we have achieved a small victory that unfortunately comes too late with 30,000 deaths,” commented MEP Miguel Urba'n, one of the supporters of the amendment.