The United Nations Security Council adopted a resolution to boost humanitarian aid to Gaza, after several delays over the past week as the United States pushed to weaken language surrounding calls for a ceasefire -fire.
The resolution, which calls for measures “to create the conditions for a lasting cessation of hostilities,” was adopted Friday by 13 votes in favor, none against, with the United States and Russia abstaining.
The vote came as the international community calls for an end to the months-long conflict, as Israeli forces strike Gaza with one of the most destructive campaigns in modern history and humanitarian conditions in the besieged strip are reaching critical levels.
More than 90 percent of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents have been displaced, and conditions of Israeli siege and bombardment have been described by U.N. officials as “hell on earth.”
Intense negotiations took place last week, with other member states seeking language that would avoid U.S. objections that condemned previous resolutions on Gaza in the 15-member body, where the United States is one of the five countries with a veto.
The initial draft called for “an urgent and lasting cessation of hostilities” and gave the UN greater control over aid deliveries to Gaza. The adopted resolution opts for less equivocal language on a cease-fire and maintains Israel’s control over all aid.
“It was difficult, but we got there,” US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield said after the vote.
While a small number of humanitarian trucks have delivered much-needed aid to Gaza, aid groups say it will not be possible to truly resolve the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip as long as hostilities continue.
“The real problem is that the way Israel is carrying out this offensive creates massive obstacles to the distribution of humanitarian aid inside Gaza. An effective aid operation in Gaza requires security, staff able to work safely, logistical capacity and the resumption of commercial activity. These four elements do not exist,” UN chief Antonio Guterres told reporters after the vote.
Before the vote, Russia proposed an amendment strengthening the language surrounding the ceasefire, saying the draft resolution had been “neutralized” by the United States.
“By signing this, the council would essentially be giving the Israeli armed forces complete freedom of movement to continue the cleansing of the Gaza Strip,” Russian U.N. Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia told the council before the vote.
Thomas-Greenfield accused her Russian counterpart of hypocrisy, pointing to Russia’s own destructive invasion of Ukraine that began in February 2022.
But the United States has been accused of double standards over its stance on Gaza, with critics saying it has spent months denouncing Russia for its violations of international law in Ukraine, while providing Israel with arms and diplomatic support, even as they face similar situations. accusations over his conduct in Gaza.
The United States vetoed a U.N. Security Council resolution calling for a ceasefire earlier this month and was one of the few dissenting votes when the U.N. General Assembly overwhelmingly adopted a ceasefire resolution last week.
“The vast majority of Security Council members and General Assembly members all want a ceasefire, a complete stop to the bombing of Gaza, in order to facilitate aid,” the Al correspondent reported. Jazeera, Gabriel Elizondo, from UN headquarters.
Earlier this week, the UN called for an investigation into allegations of killings of unarmed Palestinians by Israeli troops in the Gaza Strip, and of UN hospitals, schools, medical staff, mosques and Churches were also targeted.
Israel has said it is working to dismantle Hamas, the Palestinian armed group that rules Gaza and launched a deadly attack on southern Israel on October 7 that killed more than 1,000 people, mostly civilians, and took more than 240 prisoners.
More than 20,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have been killed since the current fighting began.
