The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) on Friday adopted a crucial resolution considering the deteriorated humanitarian conditions prevailing in the besieged Gaza Strip. Through the resolution, the UN demanded an immediate and unhindered delivery of necessary aid throughout the war-torn coastal enclave.
The Council also called to create conditions for a sustainable cessation of hostilities in the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict, which was launched after Hamas' October 7 unprecedented attack on Israel.
In the counter-offensive, Israel kept up its airstrikes and ground operations across Gaza and the death toll in the Strip crossed 20,000. About 70 per cent of those killed in Gaza are women and children, and the war is the bloodiest in the country's 75-year history.
The draft resolution was proposed at the UNSC on Friday by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the 15-nation Council voted after days of delays.
The resolution was adopted after 13 members voted in favour. None of the members stood against it while the United States (US) and Russia abstained.
The resolution demanded that parties to the conflict allow, facilitate and enable urgent, safe and unhindered delivery of humanitarian assistance at scale directly to the Palestinian civilian population throughout the Gaza Strip. In this regard, the world organisation called for urgent steps to immediately allow safe, unhindered, and expanded humanitarian access and to create the conditions for a sustainable cessation of hostilities.
The resolution also demanded that the parties to the conflict allow and facilitate the use of all available routes to and throughout the entire Gaza Strip, including border crossings.
Intending to expedite the delivery of humanitarian assistance to the civilian population in the Gaza Strip, the Council also requested UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to expeditiously appoint a Senior Humanitarian and Reconstruction Coordinator to facilitate, coordinate, monitor, and verify the humanitarian nature of all humanitarian relief consignments to Gaza.
Meanwhile, an amendment to the UAE-tabled resolution proposed by Russia was not approved after permanent members of the US cast a veto.
(With PTI inputs)
