TRANSCRIPT
The United Nations Security Council is demanding aid deliveries be allowed into Gaza following the passing of a resolution which took days to negotiate.
The initial draft called for "an urgent and sustainable cessation of hostilities", but the wording was changed in tense negotiations to appease the United States which has vetoed all previous calls for a ceasefire in support of its ally Israel.
The final resolution is much more non-committal, calling for steps to be taken toward conditions that would lead to an end to hostilities.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres says he hopes the resolution will help improve the delivery of much-needed aid, but stressed a humanitarian ceasefire is the only way to meet the needs of the people in Gaza.
"The real problem is that the way Israel is conducting this offensive Is creating massive obstacles to the distribution of humanitarian aid inside Gaza. An effective aid operation in Gaza requires security for staff who can work in safety, logistical capacity, and the resumption of commercial activity. These four elements do not exist."
The United States is defending the value of the resolution, despite its watered-down language.
There were 13 votes in favour, no votes against and two absentions from the US and Russia, allowing the 15-member council to adopt the resolution drafted by the United Arab Emirates.
The United States' representative to the U-N Linda Thomas-Greenfield says the resolution is significant and the U-S still supports temporary pauses in the violence to allow for the entry of aid and hostage-transfer operations.
"The Council must continue to support the resumption of humanitarian pauses. Israel is committed to reaching another agreement. Now, Hamas must agree to additional pauses. Still, there is no doubt that today was a massive, positive step."
Permanent Representative of Palestine to the United Nations Riyad Mansour says the resolution is a step in the right direction, but that it must be accompanied by massive pressure for an immediate ceasefire.
"Death is everywhere in Gaza in its different manifestations: destruction, deprivation, disease. People are starving. They have no water, no food, no medicine or barely any. The draft resolution that the council voted on today is intended to help address this inhumane situation, to alleviate the untold suffering and pain being born by millions of civilians."
Deputy Permanent Representative of Israel to the United Nations Brett Jonathan Miller says the Security Council should prioritise blocking the smuggling of weapons to Hamas, just as much as it is committed to increasing aid to Gaza.
"77 days ago, Hamas intentionally murdered, raped and mutilated 1,300 Israelis and took 250 hostages. And this council still has yet to issue a single statement condemning Hamas and their atrocities. In addition to the council's inability to condemn Hamas's attack, the 130 hostages, women, children and the elderly are still being held in Gaza and must not be allowed to become a footnote. Humanitarian aid is pouring into Gaza every single day, yet the hostages being held by Hamas are not even allowed visits by the Red Cross. This is the most heinous war crime imaginable. The hostages must be at the top of this council's agenda."
The International Rescue Committee has since released a statement, saying while they welcome the demand for immediate humanitarian access, the only way fully to protect Palestinian lives, enable a sufficient humanitarian response, and offer the best chance of hostage release, is to stop to the fighting.
The vote comes amid a rapidly rising death toll in Gaza, which, according to local health authorities, now exceeds 20,000 people killed in 11 weeks of conflict.
The World Health Organisation has released footage from inside Gaza's largest hospital, Al-Shifa, revealing the scale of the destruction.
Reports of people being killed on hospital grounds continue to arrive, as the Israeli military forces continue their operations against Hamas.
The WHO says it has managed to deliver critical medical supplies to the hospital, in what was dubbed a high risk joint mission alongside other partnering agents of the United Nations.
Emergency Medical Team Coordinator for the WHO Sean Casey says while additional supplies had been brought in, without fuel, medical equipment and staff won't help.
"Until we can get fuel here, bringing a team of surgeons, surgical equipment is going to do very little. Mostly what they're doing here is trauma stabilization, providing some pain management, some wound care. But how can the hospital function without fuel and when it's coming under attack?”
