After days of negotiations, a US veto and fears of a second freeze, the UN Security Council passed a resolution calling for more aid for the people of the Gaza Strip. In fact, he is not calling for an immediate ceasefire. The text was adopted with the consent of 13 member countries, while the United States and Russia abstained. And if Israel thanks the US for its support, the resolution passed by the Security Council is “not a sufficient measure” for Hamas.
What is in the resolution?
The resolution provides for “urgent and extended pauses and humanitarian corridors throughout the Gaza Strip for a sufficient number of days to enable full, rapid, safe and unhindered humanitarian access.” The text of the resolution on Gaza presented by the United Arab Emirates was “watered down” before it was finally adopted. It does not call for an immediate ceasefire, but rather sets out when and how more aid can be brought to Gaza. The agreed text also states when and how the conditions for an end or at least a suspension of the fighting in the Gaza Strip should be created. The biggest point of contention between United Nations Security Council countries has been Israel's role in deciding what aid can arrive and whether to call for a ceasefire, cessation or suspension of hostilities.
Emirates Ambassador Lana Zaki Nusseibah spoke of the “Christmas miracle we were all hoping for to send a positive message to the people of Gaza who are suffering from unbearable living conditions.”
A humanitarian ceasefire is “the only way to meet the desperate needs of the people of Gaza and put an end to their ongoing nightmare,” the UN Secretary-General said. “The Security Council resolution could finally help achieve this goal, but much more is needed immediately,” he said.
“In the long term, I am extremely disappointed by the statements made by senior Israeli officials questioning the two-state solution,” he continued, adding that “the real problem” is Israel’s offensive, which creates “enormous obstacles to the solution creates”. “Distribution of humanitarian aid in the Gaza Strip”.
The reactions
Israel's ambassador to the United Nations, Gilad Erdan, thanked the United States and its President Joe Biden for supporting Israel and “standing by its side during negotiations on the UN Security Council resolution adopted yesterday.” “The decision allows the Israeli security agency to monitor and inspect aid entering the Gaza Strip,” Erdan said, emphasizing that “the defined red lines were respected.”
In a tweet, Erdan stressed: “We cannot ignore the fact that the Security Council as a whole has not yet condemned the July 10 massacre.” This is a disgrace that reveals the UN's irrelevance to the war in Gaza. “It is not necessary to focus only on aid mechanisms for Gaza, since Israel still allows the introduction of aid to any extent necessary.” According to the diplomat, “the United Nations should have focused on the humanitarian crisis of the abductees, which “The failure of the United Nations over the last 17 years has allowed Hamas to dig terrorist tunnels and produce rockets, and it is clear that it cannot be trusted to do so in the past Monitor aid reaching the Gaza Strip.
An immediate ceasefire, extensive humanitarian aid and no forced displacement. This is what the people of the Gaza Strip need, said Palestinian UN Ambassador Riyad Mansour, describing the UN Security Council vote on the Gaza resolution as “a step in the right direction”. “We are dealing with the attempted annihilation of our people and their ultimate expulsion from their land.” That is Israel's goal, the real goal. “No future for the Palestinians in Palestine,” Mansour said.
However, for Hamas, the resolution adopted by the United Nations Security Council is “not a sufficient measure” and “does not respond to the catastrophic situation created by the Zionist war machine in the Gaza Strip.” “Over the past five days, the U.S. government has worked hard to strip this resolution of its essence,” Hamas militants said in a statement. “Issuing this weak wording calls into question the will of the international community and the United Nations General Assembly to stop Israel’s aggression against our defenseless Palestinian people,” he added.
For the US, “Hamas has no interest in lasting peace” in Gaza. Linda Thomas-Greenfield, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, said this after the Gaza resolution was passed, accusing Hamas of being “determined to repeat the horrors” of October 7 “again and again.” The United States, he added, supports Israel's right to “protect its people from terrorist attacks.” “We must work towards a future in which Israelis and Palestinians can live side by side in peace, that is the only way forward,” he said. The United States was “disappointed and appalled” that the resolution itself and some members of the Security Council failed to condemn the “horrific terrorist attack,” he concluded.
For his part, Russia's UN ambassador condemned what he called the “shameful, cynical and irresponsible” behavior of the United States, which had previously vetoed the Security Council's draft resolutions. During the UN executive session, Ambassador Vasily Alekseevich Nebenzya accused the United States of “evading all responsibility” and “deliberately prolonging the negotiation process.” Nebenzya, who presented a draft amendment to the council before the vote but it was rejected, spoke of an “ineffective” draft that allows Israel to continue to act in Gaza as it sees fit.
IDF: Near total operational control of northern Gaza Strip
Israel continues its ground operations. IDF spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said in a news conference that the Israeli army was moving closer to full “operational control” of the northern Gaza Strip and increasing operations in the southern part of the Palestinian enclave. “IDF troops are continuing their ground operations in Khan Younis while preparing to expand their activities to other areas of the Gaza Strip, with particular attention to the south,” Hagari said. The IDF also announced that an Israeli Hezbollah soldier was killed in an attack from Lebanon. Hamas claimed responsibility in a statement, saying it carried out the attack “with rocket weapons and artillery, with direct hits.” Hezbollah said it launched the attack in support of the Palestinian people.
Yemen: Thousands protest against the anti-Houthi coalition
Meanwhile, thousands of demonstrators took to the streets in several cities in Yemen, including Sanaa, yesterday to protest against the United States-led international coalition to deal with Houthis attacks on ships in the Black Sea. The demonstration in Sanaa was held under the slogan “ The Coalition to Protect Israeli Ships Doesn’t Scare Us.” Protesters' slogans included: “Any ship that comes close, we will hit.” A similar demonstration took place in Saada, a Houthi stronghold in northern Yemen.
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