4:20 PM
Pause ‘cannot replace’ a ceasefire: Russia
Russian Ambassador Nebenzia said getting aid and humanitarian assistance into Gaza is essential, especially given the deteriorating situation on the ground, with dwindling fuel supplies and the Israeli operations that are shelling schools and storming the Al-Shifa Hospital.
“Humanitarian pauses cannot replace a ceasefire or truce,” he said, adding that the US has consistently blocked efforts to cease hostilities, paralysing the work of the main UN organ to maintain peace and security.
Regretting that under Washington’s pressure the resolution has been hollowed out, Mr. Nebenzia said “it’s a disgrace that the Council has squeezed out such a weak call.”
4:15 PM
Mozambique: fundamentals still to be addressed
The Ambassador of Mozambique, Pedro Comissário, expressed conviction that the resolution was an important step towards mitigating the suffering of civilians in Gaza.
“However, we are mindful that this resolution does not address the fundamentals of the humanitarian crisis prevailing in the Gaza Strip,” he added.
He also reiterated his nation’s opinion that Israel and Palestine can only resolve their differences through peace and dialogue.
“It is our strong conviction that the brotherly peoples of Israel and Palestine deserve and can live side-by-side in security and peaceful coexistence in strict respect for the decision and the resolution of the Security Council,” he said.
3:55 PM
UK: Resolution ‘will save lives’
Barbara Woodward, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of the UK, said too many children are losing their lives, and it is right for the Council to call for a pause long enough to get lifesaving aid to those who need it.
“This will save lives,” she said. “We need a collective effort to get aid in.”
However, Ms. Woodward regretted to note that the resolution did not condemn the Hamas attacks on 7 October, she said, explaining her delegation’s abstention.
“We will continue to work with Council members to resolve this crisis” and to create a horizon to “make the two-State solution a reality”, she said.
Permanent Representative of the United Kingdom Barbara Woodward speaking in the Security Council.
3:46 PM
US: Horrified at failure to condemn Hamas attacks
United States Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield thanked Malta and other Council members for leading the initiative.
However, she said her country could not vote ‘yes’ on a text that did not condemn Hamas or reaffirm the right of all Member States to protect their citizens from terrorist attacks.
Permanent Representative of the United States Linda Thomas-Greenfield addressing the Security Council.
She was horrified that a few Council Members ‘still cannot bring themselves” to condemn the barbaric Hamas terror attack against Israel on 7 October.
“While this text does not include a condemnation of Hamas, this is the first time we’ve ever adopted a resolution that even mentions the word ‘Hamas’”, she said.
Ms. Thomas-Greenfield said the US is working tirelessly to facilitate the safe return of all hostages, including nine missing Americans and one permanent US citizen.
3:40 PM
The Security Council voted on the Malta resolution, with 12 members in favour, none against, and three countries abstaining, Russia, the United States and the United Kingdom.
The resolution has passed.
Russia, United Kingdom and the United States abstain during the vote.
3:37 PM
The war on Gaza has raged for 30 days without any Council action, warned the United Arab Emirates ambassador. Lana Zaki Nusseibeh implored fellow diplomats to vote for the Maltese resolution to help alleviate the enormous suffering on the ground.
This is the bare minimum that humanitarians need, to save many more lives, she said.
3:35 PM
Malta’s ambassador is now speaking ahead of the vote on her country’s resolution. Vanessa Frazier said the crisis is unfolding with a rising number of deaths. The lives of newborns at Al-Shifa Hospital are now in grave danger, and more than one million are displaced in Gaza, more than half being children.
Her delegation had held broad consultations to obtain an operational text, she said, adding that the draft calls for humanitarian pauses and the release of hostages held by Hamas and other groups.
“Our vote today translates into real human lives,” she said, urging member to cast a favourable vote.
3:29 PM
Members are now voting on the Russian amendment. The result was 5 votes in favour, one against, and nine abstentions. The US voted against. The amendment was not adopted as it failed to secure the required votes.
3:23 PM
Russia has asked for the floor ahead of the vote on Malta’s resolution. Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia says he wants an oral amendment, asking for “an immediate durable and sustained humanitarian truce leading to a cessation of hostilities.”
Permanent Representative of Russia Vassily Nebenzia introducing an amendment to the draft resolution
He said the wording repeated the first paragraph of the General Assembly resolution that passed overwhelmingly last month. He said the main aim had to be a ceasefire and end to violence.
He accused the US of striking out any reference during negotiations to the aim of a ceasefire. This is the “lowest common denominator” that the Council must support, he added.
3:22 PM
As is customary when countries are directly involved, but not members of the Council, both Israel and Palestine’s representatives have been invited to the table to speak when their turn comes.
3:18 PM
After much anticipation, followed by a few tense minutes of silence around the chamber – punctuated by nervous laughter while papers are gathered and sorted – the meeting is just about to get underway…
3:06 PM
China holds the presidency of the Council this month, and shortly, Ambassador Zhang Jun is due to gavel the emergency meeting to order, as staff from the 15 permanent missions who serve, get themselves in place behind their ambassadors around the iconic horseshoe table.
2:30 PM
This will be the fifth attempt. The Council rejected four previous versions over differences on such provisions as references to a ceasefire as Israel’s ground campaign has intensified with the loss of more than 11,000 Palestinian lives so far according to the Ministry of Health in Gaza, and specific condemnations of the Hamas attacks.
The fresh draft calls for, among other things, the immediate release of all hostages held by Hamas, which governs the Gaza Strip, and for urgent and extended humanitarian pauses and corridors throughout the besieged enclave to allow access for aid workers.
It also demands that that all parties respect international law, particularly concerning civilian protection.
To pass, a resolution needs nine votes in favour and no vetoes – a privilege reserved for its permanent members (China, France, Russia, United Kingdom and the United States).
A US veto in late October triggered the UN General Assembly to convene its resumed tenth emergency special session on the crisis, which adopted on 26 October a resolution calling for a humanitarian truce and civilian protection.
On Wednesday, Council members will again consider a collective response to the crisis.
Visit our previous stories tracking attempts to find unity:
Visit our story on the Security Council’s last open meeting on 10 November on the deteriorating crisis. Here are some of the key points:
HIGHLIGHTS
- Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, head of the World Health Organization (WHO), called for a ceasefire to save lives and speed the delivery of much needed aid, saying “nowhere and no one is safe” in Gaza, stressing that medical staff continue to grapple with trying to manage the growing needs of 2.3 million people without the lifesaving aid required to treat the ill and injured
- Marwan Jilani, Director General of the Palestine Red Crescent Society, said Gaza’s “health sector is under attack”, calling on the Council to step up to do its part to end the violence, ensure international humanitarian law is upheld and open safe pathways for aid
- At the outset of the meeting, everyone in the Council Chamber stood for a minute of silence for all those who lost their lives in Israel due to the 7 October attacks and all those Palestinian civilians who have died during the fighting