Picture: State of Palestine / MFA / X Rescue workers trying to find survivors after Israeli aistrikes destroyed homes in Khan Yunis, in Al-Amal neighborhood in the west, and in Nuseirat and Jabalia camps.
By Peoples Dispatch
The resolution was rejected by the US and its European allies strongly backing Israeli siege on Gaza which has killed over 2,800 Palestinians in 11 days
On the 10th day of the Israeli war on Gaza on Monday, October 16 the UN Security Council failed to adopt a resolution demanding immediate humanitarian ceasefire. The US and its allies in the UNSC voted against the move dashing all hopes for relief for millions in the besieged Palestinian territory.
The draft resolution prepared by Russia condemned all “violence and hostilities directed against civilians and all acts of terrorism” without naming anyone and demanded “an immediate, durable and fully respected humanitarian ceasefire” in Gaza.
Speaking before the vote Palestinian ambassador to the UN, Riayd Mansour, appealed to the countries in the council to be guided by the principles of international law without exception. He also told the council to “not send a signal that Palestinian lives do not matter.”
“Do not dare say Israel is not responsible for the bombs it is dropping on their heads,” Mansour added. He denied Israeli claims that Gaza is a military operation but a full scale assault on innocent civilian population there.
The resolution received just five votes, with China, Russia, Gabon, Mozambique, and the United Arab Emirates voting in favour. Three permanent members, all of them NATO members, the US, the UK and France voted against the resolution along with Japan. Six other countries abstained.
The US, France and the UK have endorsed the Israeli “right to self-defence” and are completely backing its war in Gaza.
The US president Joe Biden is set to visit Israel on Wednesday after his secretary of state Anthony Blinken made an extensive week-long travel in the region trying to garner support for the Israeli war in Gaza.
The US has also provided weapons and ammunition to the Israeli forces and deployed its warships in the region as a deterrent against any other regional player intervening against Israeli war.
Israel has repeatedly denied all appeals made by the UN and several countries in the region to let humanitarian aid flow into the besieged Gaza territory.
Israeli bombings killed 71 Palestinians on Tuesday
Israel’s indiscriminate bombings in Gaza continued on the 11th day on Tuesday with at least 71 more Palestinians killed at Rafah border and in Khas Younis in southern Gaza, Palestinian news agency Wafa reported.
With Monday’s killings the total number of Palestinians killed so far in the Israeli war in Gaza has crossed 2,800, of whom over 1,000 were children. According to the UN, more than 11,000 Palestinians have been injured in the Israeli bombings so far.
Meanwhile, Blinken claimed on Tuesday that Israel has agreed to allow humanitarian aid to flow into Gaza, shortly after Israel. However, nothing is confirmed yet as similar claims were made on Monday as well.
Gaza’s humanitarian situation is on the verge of collapse according to the UN agencies. There are over 1 million Palestinians displaced due to the Israeli bombings and threats of ground offensive.
Israel has imposed a complete ban on all kinds of supplies of food, medicine, fuel and electricity to Gaza, leaving over 2.3 million Palestinians with gradually dwindling supplies of essential commodities for more than a week now.
UN agencies have claimed that the Israeli blockade has led to shutting down all power plants in Gaza, endangering supply of essential services such as water and sanitation and thousands of lives of those admitted in hospitals.
Meanwhile, Israel continued to amass soldiers, tanks and other logistical tools at its fence with Gaza in preparation to eventually launch a ground offensive.
Scores of illegal settlers stormed into Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied East Jerusalem on early morning Tuesday under heavy Israeli security.
The repeated violations of Al-Aqsa were the reasons cited by Palestinian resistance movements behind launching Operation Al-Aqsa Flood on Saturday, October 7.
This article was first published on Peoples Dispatch
