Gaza proposal of Bangladesh, Pakistan and Russia fails in Security Council

United Nations (Uttam Hindu News): The resolution presented in the UN Security Council by Bangladesh, Pakistan, Russia and several Arab countries has failed. It called for a ceasefire in Israel and Gaza, but made no mention of Hamas. The resolution was voted on on Monday night after council members could not agree on a common approach despite a last-minute attempt by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to build consensus in a closed meeting. The resolution did not name Hamas as the perpetrator of the attack on Israel. Council’s permanent members America, Britain and France voted against the resolution. Japan also voted against the resolution.

Only Russia, China, Mozambique, Gabon and the UAE voted in favor of the resolution, while six countries abstained. The humanitarian crisis in Gaza is growing, with Israeli bombardment resulting in more than 2,700 deaths. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres announced plans to visit Egypt on Thursday. Israel has also asked about 1 million people in the northern part of Gaza to move south in fear of a ground attack.

Guterres has said the Middle East is “on the brink of the abyss” and has called on Israel to lift the blockade on Gaza, where food and water supplies are running dangerously low and people are unable to get out. Gaza is adjacent to Egypt and relief supplies can be sent through it and people can be allowed to leave Gaza and go to the African country.

Guterres’ spokesman Stephane Dujarric said he may visit the Rafah crossing, which links the enclave to Egypt, but has no plans to visit Gaza now. Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the US permanent representative to the UN, said the October 7 Hamas attack was “the worst massacre of the Jewish people since the Holocaust” and that it “brought to the surface anti-Semitism that has existed for thousands of years.”

He compared Hamas to the terrorist organization Islamic State and said that “by failing to condemn Hamas (in the resolution), Russia is giving cover to a terrorist group that brutalizes innocent civilians.” UAE Permanent Representative Lana Zaki Nusseibeh, who voted in favor of the resolution, said: “Hamas does not represent the Palestinian people, or the people of Gaza, who are suffering immensely today.”