UN Security Council passes Gaza aid resolution, but without calling for a cease-fire
Published:Friday | December 22, 2023 | 5:07 PM
The United Nations Security Council passed a new resolution that calls for speeding up humanitarian aid deliveries into Gaza, but without the original insistence on an “urgent suspension of hostilities” between Israel and Hamas.
The United States and Russia abstained from Friday's vote, which was delayed for days as diplomats sought to avoid a veto by the US, Israel's closest ally.
Palestinian officials said Friday that the death toll in Gaza has now exceeded a staggering 20,000 — around 1% of the besieged territory's prewar population.
The UN says more than a half-million people are starving in Gaza because not enough food has entered the besieged territory as Israel keeps up its blistering campaign of airstrikes and ground operations for over 10 weeks.
The Health Ministry in Gaza does not differentiate between civilian and combatant deaths. Israel says more than 130 of its soldiers have died in its ground offensive after Hamas raided southern Israel on October 7, killing about 1,200 people — mostly civilians — and taking about 240 hostages.
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