The United Nations Security Council passed Resolution 2720 on Gaza and Israel, calling for “urgent steps to immediately allow the extensive, safe, and unimpeded delivery of humanitarian aid and to create the necessary conditions for a sustainable cessation of hostilities.” The resolution, presented by the United Arab Emirates, the Arab member of the Council, received the support of 13 members while the United States and Russia abstained from voting, as reported by the United Nations News Centre.
The resolution urges the appointment of a “Senior Coordinator for Humanitarian Affairs and Reconstruction” in Gaza, responsible for facilitating, coordinating, and monitoring all humanitarian relief shipments to Gaza from non-conflict parties, and verifying their humanitarian nature.
It demands that all conflict parties comply with their international law obligations to protect civilians and civilian objects, ensure the delivery of humanitarian aid, and protect and allow the free movement of humanitarian workers. The resolution also rejects “the forced displacement of civilians, including children,” and reaffirms all parties’ commitments “to refrain from attacking, destroying, removing, or damaging objects indispensable to the survival of the civilian population.”
Furthermore, the resolution calls on conflict parties to make available and facilitate the use of “all available routes leading to and throughout the Gaza Strip,” including the full and swift implementation of the announced opening of the Kerem Shalom border crossing.
The Security Council requested the full implementation of Resolution 2712, which was adopted in mid-November, and asked all concerned parties to fully utilize existing humanitarian notification mechanisms to avoid military-humanitarian conflicts, protect all humanitarian sites including UN facilities, and assist in facilitating the movement of aid convoys.
The Security Council refrained from making a Russian-requested amendment to the draft resolution due to an American veto, according to Al Jazeera news channel.
US Ambassador to the UN Security Council Linda Thomas-Greenfield described the resolution as a “glimmer of hope amidst this overwhelming tide of suffering,” adding that “passing the resolution was not easy and we have done everything in our power to resolve the crisis,” emphasizing that civilians, humanitarian facilities, and UN sites must be protected.
