UNSC resolution calls for ‘humanitarian pauses’ in Gaza war
First UN resolution about the war after weeks of discussions
The United Nations Security Council adopted a resolution on Wednesday calling for “urgent and extended humanitarian pauses” in the fighting between Israel and Hamas terrorists in the Gaza Strip, in its first resolution regarding the war since it began on Oct. 7.
After weeks of discussions and failed resolutions, a Maltese proposal was passed 12-0, with three abstentions by the United States, the United Kingdom, and Russia, in the first action the council has taken on the war in the Gaza Strip.
The resolution “called” for “urgent and extended humanitarian pauses and corridors throughout the Gaza Strip for a sufficient number of days to enable, consistent with international humanitarian law, the full, rapid, safe, and unhindered humanitarian access for United Nations humanitarian agencies and their implementing partners.”
In the final draft of the document, the initial “demand” was watered down to a “call.”
The resolution also called for the release of “all hostages held by Hamas and other groups, especially children” and for both Israel and Hamas to “refrain from depriving the civilian population in the Gaza Strip of basic services and humanitarian assistance.”
While a call for a ceasefire was not included in the resolution, it also did not refer to the massacre perpetrated by Hamas terrorists on Oct. 7, who killed over 1,200 and kidnapped 239 people in the Israeli communities bordering the Gaza Strip.
Israeli officials condemned the resolution, with Ambassador to UN Gilad Erdan calling it “disconnected from reality” and “meaningless.”
“Regardless of what the Council decides, Israel will continue acting according to int’l law while the Hamas terrorists will not even read the resolution at all, let alone abide by it,” he added.
Israel’s Foreign Ministry stated that “Israel expects the Security Council to unequivocally condemn Hamas and to address the need to establish a new security reality in Gaza. Extended humanitarian pauses are untenable as long as 239 abductees remain in the hands of Hamas terrorists.”
The All Israel News Staff is a team of journalists in Israel.
