(VOVWORLD) -The United Nations Security Council is expected to vote as early as Monday on a new resolution to demand that Israel and Hamas allow humanitarian aid to have access to the Gaza Strip – via land, sea and air routes.
 A UN Security Council meetingon Gaza n New York on December 8, 2023 (Photo: Charly Triballeau/AFP) |
The new draft resolution also demands establishing UN monitoring of the distribution of the humanitarian assistance.
Diplomatic sources at the UN in New York said that the US, Israel’s most important ally, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which has drafted the text, are discussing the final details to meet the conditions of all parties involved.
Early this month, the US vetoed a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza.
According to UN regulations, in order to approve a resolution, the draft needs at least 9 votes in favor out of a total of 15 members of the UN Security Council and no veto from 1 of the 5 permanent members of the Security Council – Russia, China, the US, France, and the UK.
 French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna (Photo: america-times.com) |
Speaking on Sunday in Israel during a trip to the Middle East, Catherine Colonna, France’s Foreign Minister, urged Israel to promptly open discussion of a ceasefire in Gaza.
“The systematic bombings have caused so much suffering. Israel must protect the lives of civilians as required by international law and must negotiate a ceasefire that would allow the release of hostages and for humanitarian aid to be brought into Gaza with the distribution of aid on a larger scale,” said Colonna.
On Sunday, Israel opened the Kerem Shalom crossing into the Gaza Strip, which could help double the amount of food and medicine transferred into Gaza. Before that, humanitarian convoys had only one entrance into Gaza through Egypt’s Rafah border gate.