After bitter negotiations, the UN Security Council called for the “large-scale” delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza without calling for an immediate ceasefire, which the US rejected. The resolution, adopted by 13 votes in favour, none against and two abstentions (US and Russia), “calls on all parties to authorize and facilitate the immediate, safe and unimpeded delivery of large-scale humanitarian assistance” to Gaza and calls for “urgent adoption.” “Measures in this regard and create the conditions for a permanent cessation of hostilities.” The text also calls for the use of “all access and transport routes available throughout the Gaza Strip” for the delivery of fuel, food and medical equipment throughout the Palestinian enclave. “We know that this is not a perfect text and that only a ceasefire can end the suffering,” commented Emirati Ambassador Lana Zaki Nusseibeh, a sponsor of the resolution. “If we do not take drastic measures, there will be famine in Gaza,” and this text “responds with facts to the desperate humanitarian situation of the Palestinian people,” the diplomat added before the vote at the Glass Palace in New York.
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The resolution, the result of long discussions under the threat of a new American veto, was watered down compared to the more ambitious version proposed by the Emirates on Sunday. The reference to an “urgent and permanent cessation of hostilities” contained in Sunday’s text has disappeared, as has the less direct call in a later version for an “urgent cessation of hostilities”. A Russian amendment that would revive calls for an “urgent cessation of hostilities” was blocked by the United States, which vetoed it. Security Council members sought to avoid a new U.S. veto as residents of the Gaza Strip, bombed by Israeli forces in retaliation for the bloody and unprecedented Hamas attack on Oct. 7, now face starvation.
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The Security Council has been widely criticized for its inaction since the start of the war. Negotiations on this new resolution were also intense regarding the conditions for the creation of a monitoring mechanism to ensure the “humanitarian” nature of the aid. Israel, which wants to retain control over humanitarian convoys, objected to the United Nations being solely responsible for the mechanism. The adopted version proposes a system under the auspices of a UN “coordinator” responsible for “accelerating” the handover process in “consultation” with the parties. Another thorny point is the absence in the text of any condemnation – and even the name – of Hamas, which is disapproved of by Israel and the United States. The text deplores “all acts of terrorism” and “all attacks on civilians” and calls for the “unconditional” release of all hostages. Members of the United Nations Security Council voted on the draft resolution for humanitarian aid in Gaza. Thirteen yes votes: Albania, Brazil, Ecuador, Gabon, Ghana, Japan, Malta, Mozambique, Switzerland, United Arab Emirates, China, France, United Kingdom Two abstentions: USA and Russia. No dissenting votes. Only the five permanent members of the Council – the United States, Russia, France, China and the United Kingdom – can exercise veto power.