By Moussa Al Wazir | Staff Writer
After 5 months full of bloodshed and destruction in Gaza, the United Nations Security Council finally adopted Resolution 2728, a resolution that demands a temporary but immediate ceasefire of the Israeli war on the Gaza Strips during the holy month of Ramadan and the release of Israeli hostages captured on October 7. The resolution which was proposed by the 10 non-permanent elected members passed after 14 members including Russia, China, and the United Kingdom voted in favor, while the United States abstained, which makes the legal passage of the resolution significant.
The decision of the United States not to use its veto power to stop this resolution was a surprise from everyone and a shock for its Israeli ally since the Biden administration was responsible for stopping 2 previous ceasefire resolutions. In a statement after the passage of the resolution, the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that the US doesn’t agree with all the provisions in the resolution. From their side, the Prime Minister of the Israeli war government Benjamin Netanyahu stated that the U.S. decision not to use its veto was “a clear departure from the consistent U.S. position in the Security Council since the beginning of the war.”
Even though two weeks have passed since the Security Council adopted the resolution, till now, it hasn’t had any clear effect as the war in the Gaza Strip is still ongoing, and the Palestinian resistance factions have not released any hostages. Additionally, the Ministry of Health in the Gaza Strip announced that the health system in Gaza is about to further collapse and deteriorate after Israeli tanks and military vehicles imposed a siege on the Nasser Medical Complex in the city of Khan Yunis, south of the Strip.
The humanitarian situation in the strip is worsening by the day, even by the hour as there are severe food shortages raising fears of famine after hungry civilians in the strip began searching for wild green hibiscus because there was nothing else edible.
Sources:
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/3/25/un-security-council-adopts-resolution-calling-for-immediate-gaza-ceasefire
https://www.france24.com/ar/الشرق-الأوسط/20240327-وقف-اطلاق-النار-قطاع-غزة-فلسطين-مجلس-الامن-كتائب-القسام-حماس-اسرائيل-مجاعة-هدنة-رمضان
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2024/03/26/un-gaza-ceasefire-resolution-countries-vote/#