With 13 votes in favor and 2 abstentions from the US and Russia, the United Nations Security Council passed Resolution 2720 calling for increased provision of urgent humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip.
Mixed reactions
The key resolution, sponsored by the United Arab Emirates (UAE), calls on all parties to comply with their international legal obligations, including international humanitarian law; increase the provision of urgent, safe and unhindered humanitarian assistance directly to Palestinian civilians in the Gaza Strip; release hostages immediately and unconditionally; and promptly establish a UN mechanism to expedite humanitarian aid deliveries to Gaza through countries not involved in the conflict, while ensuring that aid reaches the people of the region.
The Palestinian Authority on December 23 called the resolution a step in the right direction to end Israel's military actions, ensure the delivery of aid and protect Palestinians. However, the Hamas Islamist movement said the resolution was insufficient to meet the needs of the people in the region, and accused the US of trying to eliminate the essence of the resolution.
Meanwhile, Al Jazeera TV channel reported on December 23 that dozens of people, including children, were killed in Israeli military attacks on the Jabalia refugee camp in Gaza. Rocket and artillery attacks on the night of December 22 and early morning of December 23 (local time) prevented rescue and medical staff from providing timely assistance to the injured.
Earlier, on December 22, the Israeli army expanded its ground military campaign in Gaza, saying it would send more combat forces south of Khan Younis and asked residents to leave the Al-Bureij refugee camp. Both locations were previously declared safe zones for refugees from northern Gaza.
Humanitarian disaster
In a statement on December 23, the health authority in the Gaza Strip said that 390 Palestinians were killed and 734 injured in Israeli attacks on Gaza on December 21 and 22. After 11 weeks of conflict, more than 20,000 Palestinians have been killed, and the death toll in Gaza has reached nearly 1% of the territory's population before the conflict broke out.
Israel has attacked most of the Gaza Strip from the air, land and sea, while fighting between Israeli forces and Palestinian armed factions continues in most areas of Gaza, except Rafah, sources said.
UNICEF predicts that at least 10,000 children under the age of five in Gaza will face life-threatening malnutrition in the coming weeks. More than 80% of young children are experiencing severe food shortages, and more than two-thirds of hospitals are no longer functioning due to lack of fuel, water and essential medical supplies or because they have suffered catastrophic damage in the attacks.
UNICEF calls on “all parties to immediately and fully respect international humanitarian law, including the principles of distinction and proportionality, and to take all necessary precautions to protect civilians, release all hostages and fulfil their obligations to ensure children are protected and assisted.”
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