UN Calls for Increased Gaza Aid Amidst Distribution Challenges
The U.N. Security Council has issued a call to escalate humanitarian assistance for Gaza, but the U.N. chief, Antonio Guterres, has raised concerns about the obstacles created by Israel in distributing aid within the war-torn enclave. The Security Council, after navigating threats of a U.S. veto, passed a resolution on Friday urging measures to ensure “safe, unhindered, and expanded humanitarian access” to Gaza, with conditions for a sustainable cessation of fighting.
The resolution, modified from earlier drafts, avoided an immediate halt to the 11-week war and dilution of Israeli control over aid deliveries, leading to the United States, Israel’s primary ally, abstaining from the vote. The U.S. has consistently supported Israel’s right to self-defense in response to the October 7 incursion by Gaza’s ruling Hamas militants, resulting in 1,200 casualties and 240 hostages taken back into the enclave.
Israel’s U.N. ambassador, Gilad Erdan, criticized the Security Council for not prioritizing the release of hostages and deemed the focus on “aid mechanisms” unnecessary, asserting that Israel allows aid deliveries on the required scale.
The resolution received mixed reactions from Hamas and the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank, with Hamas deeming it “insufficient” and defying international calls to end “Israel’s aggression.” The Palestinian Authority’s foreign ministry welcomed the resolution as a step toward ending aggression, facilitating aid arrival, and protecting the Palestinian people.
UN Security Council votes to increase aid into Gaza – but doesn’t call for immediate ceasefire https://t.co/Y5Ogrpn4RN
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While the U.S. and Israel, committed to eradicating Hamas, oppose a ceasefire, President Joe Biden’s administration has expressed growing concern about the escalating casualty toll and humanitarian crisis resulting from Israel’s ongoing ground and air offensive.
Secretary-General Antonio Guterres voiced his apprehension, stating that Israel’s military operation is hindering humanitarian aid distribution in Gaza, where available aid is only 10 percent of the required amount. Israel contends that 5,405 aid trucks, carrying food, water, and medical supplies, have entered Gaza since the conflict began.
The latest update from Gaza’s health ministry reports 20,057 Palestinians killed and 53,320 wounded, with 140 Israeli soldiers killed. Late-night airstrikes, shelling, and ongoing talks in Egypt, aimed at securing a truce between Israel and Hamas, indicate a bleak outlook for an immediate breakthrough. A new focus on Al-Bureij in central Gaza was signaled by Israel’s military, intensifying the ground assault and prompting residents to evacuate amid continued violence.
The conflict persists, with casualties mounting and concerns deepening over the humanitarian crisis, as diplomatic efforts struggle to bring about a resolution.