Israel-Gaza War Further Divides UN Security Council

The United Nations (UN) Security Council has continued to be divided as members again disagreed on the proposed humanitarian pause in the ongoing war between Gaza and Israel yesterday.

The resolution which proposed a humanitarian pause to deliver aid to people in Gaza was vetoed by the United States leading to its failure.

The council comprised 15 members, five permanent members wielding veto powers capable of impeding the progress of any resolution, while the other 10 non-permanent members lacked special powers.

For the council to adopt a resolution, the proposal must receive at least nine votes in favour, with none of its five permanent members opposing or casting a veto.

The vote in the 15-member Security Council on the resolution sponsored by Brazil was 12 votes in favour, the United States against, and Russia and the United Kingdom abstaining.

US Ambassador to the UN, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, said after the vote that President Joe Biden is in the region engaging in diplomacy to secure the release of hostages, prevent the conflict from spreading and stress the need to protect civilians. “We need to let that diplomacy play out,” she said.

Thomas-Greenfield said resolutions are important and the Security Council must speak out, “But the actions we take must be informed by the facts on the ground and support direct diplomacy efforts that can save lives — the council needs to get this right.”

She also criticised the resolution for not saying anything about Israel’s right to self-defence following Hamas’ surprise October 7 attacks that killed more than 1,400 people in Israel.

Since then, the Gaza Health Ministry says nearly 3,500 people have been killed in Gaza and more than 12,000 wounded.

Russia’s UN Ambassador, Vassily Nebenzia said the Brazil resolution, which called for “humanitarian pauses” to deliver aid, wouldn’t have helped to avoid Tuesday’s explosion at a Gaza hospital that killed hundreds. “It is only a cease-fire that will help to do this,” he said.

He told council members who abstained or opposed the amendments – the US voted against both that they will have to “bear responsibility” for what happens now to people in their own countries, the region, “and the people who are living under this deadly threat.”

After the US veto of the resolution, Nebenzia accused the United States of “hypocrisy” and “double standards,” saying the Americans didn’t want a solution in the Security Council.

The divided Security Council has been even more polarised since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, and the votes on the Brazil resolution reflected the divisions.

Meanwhile, Israel said it “will not thwart” the delivery of food, water and medicine from Egypt for civilians in Gaza as long as this aid does not “reach Hamas.”

The agreement was announced by US President Biden just before he left Israel after visiting the country in a show of support on Wednesday.

Earlier, Biden backed Israel’s strong denial of any involvement in an explosion at a hospital in Gaza, saying it was supported by “data” he had seen from the US defence department.

He said, “I was deeply saddened and outraged by the explosion of the hospital in Gaza yesterday, and based on what I’ve seen, it appears as though it was done by the other team, not you.”

A heavy blast at a Gaza hospital killed hundreds of Palestinians just before President Biden arrived in Israel.

Israel was immediately blamed by Hamas but the Israel Defence Forces said the blast was caused by a misfired Palestinian militant rocket.

A range of Arab countries joined Hamas in blaming Israel for the explosion, and some Arab leaders cancelled meetings with Biden.

Israel has carried out heavy bombing across Gaza since the Hamas attacks on 7th  October while the militants have continued to fire rockets targeting Israel.