The United Nations Security Council has voted in favour of a resolution to speed up the delivery of aid to Gaza.
The resolution also includes a commitment to “create conditions for the sustainable cessation of hostilities” in the Gaza Strip.
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) drafted the resolution which was passed by the 15-member council on Friday, with 13 members voting in favour and two countries, the US and Russia, abstaining.
It comes after days of delays and high-level diplomatic talks involving the US, Western allies, and Arab nations, over the UN resolution.
The vote was thrown into limbo on Thursday after the US voiced “widespread concerns” with the draft.
Washington had raised fears the resolution as drafted “could actually slow down delivery” of humanitarian aid by creating an “unworkable monitoring mechanism”.
Israel – which is not a member of the Security Council – had also insisted on maintaining the lead on inspections of aid deliveries into Gaza.
The resolution had also been delayed over language used in the draft, calling for a sustainable cessation of hostilities in Gaza.
The resolution now calls for “creating the conditions” for one.
On Wednesday, US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby also raised concerns that the resolution had not included a condemnation of Hamas’s 7 October attack on Israel.
UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres has warned that Gaza faces “a humanitarian catastrophe” and a total collapse of the humanitarian support system will lead to “a complete breakdown of public order and increased pressure for mass displacement into Egypt”.
Earlier this month, the US vetoed a UN Security Council resolution – backed by almost all other council members and dozens of other nations – demanding an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza.
Washington argued that a ceasefire would only plant the seed for a future war between Israel and Hamas.
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Source : Sky News
