UN Security Council delays vote on Gaza humanitarian resolution amid intense negotiations

The United Nations Security Council on Tuesday delayed a vote on a resolution addressing the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip amid the war between Israel and Hamas, with intense negotiations among the 15-member body.

The Security Council was expected to meet at 5 p.m. for a vote on a resolution sponsored by the United Arab Emirates that called for an “urgent suspension of hostilities” and to scale up humanitarian assistance in the strip, according to draft text provided by the U.N.

A vote is now reportedly expected to take place Wednesday. 

The United States has opposed all recent resolutions proposed in the Security Council and General Assembly that have withheld condemning Hamas’s attack against Israel on Oct. 7, which triggered the nearly 11-week war.

The U.S. used its veto power in the Security Council on Dec. 8 to kill a resolution calling for a humanitarian cease-fire, condemning the text as divorced from reality and for failing to condemn Hamas’s attack.

While resolutions passed in the General Assembly are statements for the record, Security Council resolutions are legally binding, although there are few — if any — mechanisms of enforcement.

State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said the U.S. was “engaging constructively with colleagues on the Security Council” on the text of the resolution.

“We would welcome a resolution that fully supports addressing the humanitarian needs of the people in Gaza but … the details of it very much do matter,” Miller said. 

Draft text published by the United Nations calls for an “urgent suspension of hostilities,” so far holding back on calling for a direct cease-fire. 

Selected text made public does not yet mention Hamas, but it demands the “immediate and unconditional release of all hostages” and condemns “all acts of terrorism.” 

Hamas, which is designated as a terrorist group by the U.S. and the European Union, continues to hold more than 100 people hostage, the majority of them Israelis. These people were taken from southern Israel during the Oct. 7 Hamas attack.

The U.S. blames Hamas for breaking an agreement to release women hostages during a pause in fighting at the end of November. 

“Colleagues, we must hold space for the heartbreak on all sides. For all whose lives have been disrupted and destroyed by a conflict that Hamas set in motion, that Hamas restarted after a week-long humanitarian pause, and that Hamas could once again end by simply releasing the hostages,” said Robert Wood, the U.S. alternative representative for special political affairs, during the Tuesday Security Council meeting.

Israel says its goal in its military campaign in Gaza is to eliminate Hamas after it killed 1,200 people in Israel. Israel wants to end Hamas’s ability to govern the strip and destroy its military infrastructure that continues to threaten Israel with rocket fire.

But the Israeli military operations have led to widespread destruction of the besieged enclave and a spiraling humanitarian crisis. An estimated 19,000 Palestinians have been killed amid the fighting, with more than one million displaced. Shortages of water, food, electricity and fuel have been widespread, and there are fears of spreading disease.

“The delivery of humanitarian aid in the Strip continues to face nearly insurmountable challenges,” said Tor Wennesland, special coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process during Tuesday’s Security Council meeting.

“Amid displacement at an unimaginable scale and active hostilities, the humanitarian response system is on the brink. Limited steps by Israel, including allowing entry of more fuel, food and cooking gas, and opening Kerem Shalom for the entry of humanitarian supplies, are positive, but fall far short of what is needed to address the human catastrophe on the ground.”