UN Security Council to vote on resolution urging cessation of hostilities in Gaza to deliver aid
UNITED NATIONS — The UN Security Council scheduled a vote late on Monday on an Arab-backed resolution calling for an urgent cessation of hostilities in Gaza to allow unhindered access to deliver humanitarian aid to the vast number of civilians needing food, water, need medicines and other essentials.
But diplomats said the text is still being negotiated to try to convince the United States, Israel's closest ally, to abstain rather than veto the resolution, making it likely the 5pm vote at the United Nations could be postponed. The diplomats spoke on condition of anonymity because the conversations were private.
The US on December 8 vetoed a Security Council resolution supported by almost all council members and dozens of other countries demanding an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza. The 193-member General Assembly overwhelmingly approved a similar resolution on December 12, with 153 votes to 10 and 23 abstentions.
The importance of a Security Council resolution is that it is legally binding, but in practice many parties choose to ignore the Council's requests for action. General Assembly resolutions are not legally binding, but they are an important barometer of world opinion.
The draft resolution discussed by the 15 council members on Monday recognizes that civilians in Gaza do not have access to adequate food, water, sanitation, electricity, telecommunications and medical services “essential for their survival.” It would also express the council's “strong concern about the disproportionate impact that the conflict is having on the lives and well-being of children, women and other civilians in vulnerable situations.”
According to Gaza's Health Ministry, more than 19,400 Palestinians have been killed since Israel declared war on the Palestinian militant group Hamas following the surprise attack in southern Israel on October 7, which killed around 1,200 people – mostly civilians – and took around 240 hostages. .
Hamas controls the Gaza Strip and the Ministry of Health does not distinguish between civilian and combatant deaths. Thousands more Palestinians are buried under the rubble in Gaza, the UN estimates. Israel says 116 soldiers have been killed in the ground offensive.
The proposed council resolution reiterates the demand that all parties comply with international humanitarian law, and in particular the protection of civilians and infrastructure critical to their survival, including hospitals, schools, places of worship and UN facilities.
The draft, obtained by The Associated Press, requires the parties to the conflict — Hamas and Israel — to fulfill their obligations under international humanitarian law and “provide the immediate, safe and unhindered delivery of humanitarian assistance on a large scale directly to the Palestinians enable civilian populations around the world.” Gaza Strip.”
It “calls for an urgent and lasting cessation of hostilities to allow safe and unhindered humanitarian access” in Gaza and also “strongly condemns” all violations of international humanitarian law, including all indiscriminate attacks on civilians and civilian objects, all violence and hostilities against civilians, and all acts of terrorism.”
The draft also demands the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages held by Hamas.
The draft reaffirms its “unwavering commitment to the vision of the two-state solution” and emphasizes “the importance of uniting the Gaza Strip with the West Bank under the Palestinian Authority.”
The draft is being negotiated by the United Arab Emirates, the Arab representative on the Security Council, and it calls on UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres to establish a rapid mechanism to monitor all humanitarian transports to Gaza by land, by sea and by air.