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António Guterres’s comments come as artillery bombardments, airstrikes and fighting reported across territory late into Friday
Welcome back to our live coverage of the Israel-Gaza war. It’s nearing 9am and Gaza City and Tel Aviv on this 23 December and here’s an overview of the latest to bring you up to speed.
The United Nations security council has backed a resolution calling for a major boost in humanitarian assistance for the Gaza Strip but the UN secretary general has said the way Israel is conducting its military operation is creating “massive obstacles” to aid distribution in the battered territory.
The UN security council, after days of delay, passed its new resolution on Gaza aid delivery with 13 votes in favour, no votes against and abstentions by the US and Russia. Although abstaining, it was pivotal for Gaza that the US did not veto and therefore block the resolution. A vote had originally been expected on Monday but was delayed day after day as negotiations went on to try to get the pieces in place for the resolution to pass when it did finally come to the vote.
António Guterres said after the UN vote: “I hope that today’s security council resolution may help improve the delivery of much-needed aid but a humanitarian ceasefire is the only way to begin to meet the desperate needs of people in Gaza and end their ongoing nightmare. As difficult as it might appear today, the two-state solution – in line with UN resolutions, international law and previous agreements – is the only path to sustainable peace.”
The Palestinian Authority and Hamas have issued different responses towards the UN security council resolution that was passed on Friday surrounding Gaza aid delivery. The Palestinian foreign ministry, which is part of the West Bank-based Palestinian Authority, called the resolution “a step in the right direction,” and said it would help “end the aggression, ensure the arrival of aid and protect the Palestinian people.” But Hamas, the militants who run Gaza, called the resolution an “insufficient step” for meeting the impoverished enclave’s needs.
The International Rescue Committee, the global humanitarian organisation, lamented the lack of a resolution by the UN security council demanding a ceasefire in Gaza, even as it welcomed the resolution on aid. It also welcomed the call for the unconditional release of remaining hostages held by Hamas after they were snatched from southern Israel during the October 7 attack that triggered the current war. “From a humanitarian point of view, the failure of the UNSC to demand an immediate and sustained ceasefire is unjustifiable,” the IRC said in a statement.
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