UN chief slams Israel\u2019s aid distribution ‘obstacles’; MSF says resolution falls \u2018painfully short\u2019 of addressing crisis<\/p>\n
In an almost meaningless resolution, the UN Security Council called for boosting humanitarian assistance for Gaza as the UN chief acknowledged the “massive obstacles” in distributing aid inside the battered enclave considering the way Israel was conducting its military operations.<\/p>\n
After days of wrangling to avert a threatened US veto, the Security Council on Friday passed a resolution urging steps to allow \u201csafe, unhindered, and expanded humanitarian access\u201d to Gaza and \u201cconditions for a sustainable cessation\u201d of fighting.<\/p>\n
The resolution was watered down from earlier drafts that called for an immediate end to 11 weeks of war and diluting Israeli control over aid deliveries, clearing the way for the vote in which the United States, Israel\u2019s main ally, abstained.<\/p>\n
Washington repeatedly has backed Israel\u2019s right to self-defense following the October 7 raid into Israel by Gaza\u2019s ruling Hamas fighters.<\/p>\n
Gilad Erdan, Israel\u2019s UN ambassador, said the Security Council should have focused more on freeing the hostages and that concentrating on \u201caid mechanisms\u201d was unnecessary as Israel permits \u201caid deliveries at the required scale.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hamas and the West Bank-based Palestinian Authority split over the measure, with the former saying it was \u201cinsufficient\u201d to meet the stricken enclave\u2019s needs and defied international calls for an end to \u201cIsrael\u2019s aggression.\u201d<\/p>\n