UN Security Council adopts resolution calling for urgent ‘humanitarian pauses and corridors’ in Gaza……………….

November 16, 2023

41 1 minute read

A plume of smoke rises in the sky of Gaza City during an Israeli airstrike on October 9, 2023. Israel relentlessly pounded the Gaza Strip overnight and into October 9 as fighting with Hamas continued around the Gaza Strip, as the death toll from the war against the Palestinian militants surged above 1,100. (Photo by MAHMUD HAMS / AFP)

The UN Security Council on Wednesday called for “extended humanitarian pauses” in the Gaza Strip, the first time it has broken its silence since the start of the bloody conflict in Gaza.

The resolution, prepared by Malta and adopted with 12 votes in favor, “calls for urgent and extended humanitarian pauses and corridors throughout the Gaza Strip for a sufficient number of days” to allow aid to reach civilians in the besieged territory.

It should be mentioned that hree states abstained from voting, namely the United States, Britain and Russia.

“Ultimately, the United States could not vote ‘yes’ on a text that did not condemn Hamas,” U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Linda Thomas-Greenfield told the council after the vote, promising to dispatch humanitarian assistance.

The Security Council called on all parts of the conflict to commit to its obligations in accordance with the international law, including the international humanitarian law, particularly in protecting the civilians and children.

The resolution also called for the release of “all hostages held by Hamas and other groups, especially children” and for all parties to “refrain from depriving the civilian population in the Gaza strip of basic services and humanitarian assistance.”