Israel has shot down a Malta-led UN resolution that called for “extended humanitarian pauses” in the war between Israel and Hamas militants in Gaza, while the Palestinians say it does not go far enough.
On Wednesday night, the United Nations Security Council adopted a resolution calling for the release of hostages being held by Hamas and for “pauses” in fighting to allow humanitarian aid.
The resolution passed through the UN body after four failed attempts, with the US, UK and Russia abstaining from the vote.
An amendment by Russia seeking to include mention of a ceasefire was defeated moments later.
The resolution also called for the evacuation of the sick and injured and for all sides to refrain from depriving those in Gaza of basic services, which have been heavily restricted during the conflict.
The Israeli Foreign Ministry said it would be rejecting the resolution, with the Israeli representative saying during the council meeting that it was “detached from reality”. He argued that Israel was doing everything it could to improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza, while Hamas was actively making it worse.
This prompted the Palestinian representative, Riyad Mansour, to ask the members of the security council what they planned to do in the face of Israel’s defiance.
In comments to CNN, Mansour later acknowledged that the council was “finally acting” but said that it should have called for a ceasefire. He also criticised the lack of condemnation for the deaths of civilians and humanitarian workers.
In a statement on X, formerly Twitter, Israeli representative to the UN Gilad Erdan said that the “meaningless” resolution will have little impact, as “Israel will continue abiding by international law” while Hamas would not even read the resolution let alone abide by it.
“It is unfortunate that the Council continues to ignore, not condemn, or even mention the massacre that Hamas carried out on October 7, which led to the war in Gaza. It is truly shameful,” he said.
“Hamas's strategy is to deliberately deteriorate the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip and increase the number of Palestinian casualties in order to motivate the UN and the Security Council to stop Israel.”
Israel, he said, will continue to act until Hamas is “destroyed” and hostages are returned.
US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield told the BBC that she was “horrified” that the council could not bring itself to condemn the “barbaric terrorist attack” that Hamas carried out on Israel.
The conflict was sparked by a surprise Hamas attack inside Israel which killed 1,400 people. Israel retaliated through a siege of Gaza, which has killed over 11,000 people.