The United Nations Security Council has once again postponed the vote on a draft resolution that, in its latest version, calls for a "suspension" of hostilities in Gaza and allows humanitarian aid to reach the enclave.
The council was scheduled to vote on the resolution on Monday, but the vote was deferred to Tuesday morning, then to the evening, and finally to Wednesday. This delay was reported by the French Press Agency, citing diplomatic sources, to allow continued negotiations and avoid another deadlock following the US veto.
On December 8, the United States exercised its veto power to prevent the adoption of a resolution calling for an "immediate humanitarian ceasefire" in Gaza, in spite of the unprecedented efforts by the UN Secretary-General, António Guterres.
However, the UN General Assembly adopted the same resolution last week with a majority of 153 votes in favor, 10 against, and 23 abstentions out of 193 member states.
Following this broad support, the United Arab Emirates presented the current draft resolution to the Security Council. The original draft called for an "urgent and permanent cessation of hostilities to allow humanitarian aid to reach the Gaza Strip without impediments."
The new draft, according to the French Press Agency, calls for an "urgent suspension of hostilities to allow safe and unimpeded humanitarian access and immediate measures for a permanent cessation of hostilities."
Since the launch of the Palestinian resistance's "Al-Aqsa Flood" operation on October 7, Israel has waged a devastating war on the Gaza Strip, resulting in 19,667 martyrs and 52,586 wounded as of Tuesday evening, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.
Since the beginning of the war, the Security Council has failed to adopt four resolution drafts to alleviate suffering in Gaza, and then, in mid-November, it adopted a resolution calling for "truces and corridors for humanitarian aid."
On December 6, for the first time since taking office, UN Secretary-General António Guterres invoked Article 99 of the organization's charter to warn Security Council members that the war in Gaza could fuel threats to international peace and security.
