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The UN Security Council has yet again failed to adopt a resolution calling for a much-needed ceasefire in Gaza amid pressure exerted from influential countries, including the US.
The US, which has repeatedly supported or justified Israel’s ruthless shelling of Gaza and indiscriminate killing of Palestinians, vetoed the text of the resolution.
“While the US strongly supports a durable peace in which both Israel and Palestine can live in peace and security, we do not support calls for an immediate ceasefire. This would only plant the seeds for the next war, because Hamas has no desire to see a durable peace, to see a two-state solution,” said Robert Wood, deputy US ambassador to the UN.
Thirteen members of the Security Council voted in favor, while the UK abstained.
Ahead of the vote, UN chief Antonio Guteress warned about the situation in Gaza, warning about a further deterioration in the region.
“The threat to the safety and security of United Nations staff in Gaza is unprecedented. More than 130 of my colleagues have already been killed, many with their families. This is the largest single loss of life in the history of our organization,” he said.
He also renewed the UN’s commitment to do what it can to deliver aid to Gaza, paying tribute to the heroic humanitarian aid workers who “remain committed to their work despite the enormous dangers to their health and their lives. But the situation is simply becoming untenable.”
Hours before the vote, the Palestinian Authority said it hoped to see the international community back the Arab-backed UN Security Resolution calling for a ceasefire to end Israeli occupation forces’ aggression and bloody war in Gaza.
The Palestinian presidency today urged all Security Council members to vote in favor of the resolution and back an immediate ceasefire for Gaza.
Palestinian news agency Wafa quoted the Palestinian presidency as stressing that the tie has “come for the adoption of this resolution” to end the genocidal war targeting defenseless Palestinians.
Civilians throughout Gaza continue to face a devastating situation amid Israeli occupation forces’ attacks targeting civilians, including children.
Earlier this week, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres sent to the UN Security Council a letter stressing the need for a humanitarian ceasefire to end the devastating situation in Gaza.
“The situation is fast deteriorating into a catastrophe with potentially irreversible implications for Palestinians as a whole and for peace and security in the region,” the UN chief wrote, adding that such an outcome “must be avoided at all costs.”
In addition to their relentless aggression, Israeli occupation forces have continued to assault Palestinian worshippers, preventing them from performing Friday prayers in Al-Aqsa mosque.
Eyewitnesses quoted earlier today by the Wafa news agency said that the occupation forces imposed strict military measures at the gates of the mosque to prevent worshipers from entering the holy site.
Israeli occupation forces have killed over 16,200 people in Gaza and the occupied West Bank since October 7.
According to official estimates, the number of children killed during the bloody war accounted for 40% of the total murdered defenseless Palestinians.
